


The Scavengers

by WayWardWatson



Category: Flight Rising
Genre: Based on Flight Rising Lore, Eventual Romance, Found Family, Gen, I'll add more tags as more is added, Maybe it was the friends we made along the way, Original Characters - Freeform, Shade Infection, Strong Language, cannibalism mentioned, character driven
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:29:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 44,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21898201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WayWardWatson/pseuds/WayWardWatson
Summary: This is a story about a small mismatched crew of dragons who live in the Shadow region, visit friends in the Wasteland, and occasionally goes on perilous adventures.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	1. Where it Begins...

**Year: 703-95**

Sweat trails down the flushed forehead of an emaciated imperial trudging through the sultry humidity that sticks to his clothes like the black ooze that has stained his chin and fingers permanently. He eyes the distant crooked forest and the scattered fungi swallowing the nearby terrain of the marshland and figures that they must be near the border of the Tangled Woods. A soft, delicate hand presses against the side of his temple, tiny fingers curling around the tufts of his hair near his ears, as the other small hand curls around his antlers. He briefly glances up at the little pearlcatcher sat atop his shoulders, curiously staring at the new terrain with fledgling wonder. He allows himself an even briefer moment to smile and capture the scene, before focusing back on the task at hand. Carefully, he crouches down and collects the dead, rotting wood near the border of the shadowy lands, searching for some dry land to make camp at. Thick black fluid drips slowly from his nose, but he doesn’t pay it any mind as he continues to gather up old wood. 

Eventually, after he’s found a sufficient amount of wood to last the night, they find a relatively flat, dry area ideal for a humble campfire and some rest. He drops the sticks and branches down onto the viscid ground as he moves to kick some nearby rocks into a haphazard circle. He kneels down and reaches up to gently remove the small fledgling from his shoulders. Immediately, she hurries over to inspect the branches that her tall companion has gathered, picking one up and brandishing it like a mighty weapon. The imperial watches as he slowly starts piling the remaining sticks inside the circle of rocks. He pulls out a sharp piece of flint and a dull, pocket-sized carving knife from his raggedy pants and strikes the two together in a feeble attempt to start a fire. Quickly bored of waving her stick around, the little girl stops what she’s doing, sits down, and crosses her legs with her stick laying across her lap, watching her companion with temporary interest. 

As he continues to work on starting a fire, he attempts to smell the air to see if anyone is nearby. However, it’s quickly apparent that the effort is futile. His nose is still congested with the viscous black ooze leaking from one of his nostrils. His heckles raise at the thought of being spied upon, but ease when he finally manages to set one of the dry sticks on fire. As far as he is concerned, they are the only ones within this vicinity. No longer interested in the art of fire-building, the fledgling has moved on to more entertaining activities, like chasing the tail of her companion. She lets out a small squeak as she attempts to pounce on the tail while the imperial sits back, satisfied with his success. He sways his tail lazily to keep the girl busy. 

He relaxes at her delighted laughter as she chases his tail like a feline might with a small animal. He’ll need to figure out how to ration the food that they currently have, given that they only have a few pieces of dried jerky-like meat left and a couple of questionable root vegetables that Cybil blatantly refuses to eat. Hunger settles in the pit of his stomach, along with the fear that usually accompanies it. He’ll have to go hunting soon, he thinks dreadfully. He looks over toward the dusky forest nearby, likely filled with non-plagued plants and animals that must reside within its shadows. It’s outside his usual hunting terrain, but if it promises healthier food for Cybil, he’ll make the venture. 

Speaking of, his gaze snaps back from the forest and he reaches into his small pouch to grab the remaining morsels. Since her diet consists of plants and insects, the imperial scoots closer to the fledgling and tries to hand her a questionable root. He makes sure to be extra careful with not getting any of the gross shade goo on it. “You have to eat.” 

Cybil does not move to take the food. 

With a quiet sigh, he breaks the vegetable in half, and then takes a bite out of it to show her that it’s edible. He tries to give her the other, untouched half again as he pulls out the dried jerky for himself. Cybil looks at the vegetable she has been given, glancing up at her companion every so often, before taking a tentative bite. His shoulders relax just a little more when it seems to have met her standards, giving her an encouraging smile as she nibbles on it some more. 

_Earlier, in the thinner part of the Wispwillow Grove..._

A young, female mirror traverses carefully through the marshland, unhappy about her current endeavor. She lifts her starlight cloak up so that it will stop catching against the underbrush and primly walks over an exposed root. Around her, wisps of blue and purple lights glow majestically as a drove of fireflies hover near a cracked open, dead trunk. Not that any of this appeals to the mirror. If anything, she looks annoyed and desensitized to the mystical wonders offered by the shrouds of her home. She looks like she would be more than happy to sacrifice all of it for a decent cot and a few hours of sleep. If it had been her choice, she likely would already be asleep, however she had agreed to her friend’s request to scavenge near the border like some kind of chump. If it’s any consolation, she thinks to herself, this is entirely Axial’s fault and thus his responsibility to make it up to her _and_ her blistered feet. 

The trees become more sparse as a heavy humid heat settles over her shoulders. Ahead, the twisted trunks gradually devolve into stumps and paper thin trees coated in green and yellow fungi with spores that look disgustingly akin to puss. As more light penetrates the foggy shadows, the chilled ground shifts into an unwelcoming warm, pulsating, sticky floor. 

Ultra grimaces. 

She doesn't step out too far, keeping her eyes on the ground as she searches for any, hopefully saleable, scraps. She manages to collect a few sparrow skulls when an unnatural shiver crawls down her spine. She steps back into the comfortable shadows of the woods, as a light dust of purple magic pools around her hands in quiet preparation. Silently, she stalks forward, searching for this unnatural source. She continues along the southern border, every so often pausing to hiss in distaste. She could always turn around as this isn’t her problem. However, if Axial were to wander out here while this... _scent_ is still present, if he were to have Cub, then it would become her problem if they were to get hurt. Or worse. 

She keeps moving forward. 

Ultra stumbles when she hears a childish giggle in the direction of the scent. Is the fledgling the origin of the scent? She’s not sure if she could handle the sight if that's the case. Yet despite the twist in her stomach, she softly treads forward, moving along the curves of the shadows cast by the trees around her, listening to the faint sound of laughter. 

_This could be a trap._ She thinks. She could be making a big mistake here. Even if she’s a capable scavenger, she’s not sure if what she’ll find is something she can take head on. She exhales quietly, the faint purple mist encircling her hand gently pulsing for a moment. No, she’s at least adept enough to go undetected. She decides that she will likely be fine. _Maybe._

She pauses when she spots the flicker of light from a campfire up ahead and crouches low enough that the bushes can obscure her well. Quietly praying to the Shadowbinder that the light does not reveal her presence, she slowly creeps forward to peer past the shrubbery. 

Her eyes are first drawn to the fledgling rolling in the Wasteland’s sinew as she attempts to seize a fluffy lavender tail idly moving back and forth. Then, her gaze pans up to the imperial and her blood runs cold. Her pupils constrict as she watches black goop dribble down his face and plop on the ground. Her breath hitches as he shares the vegetable with the fledgling, opens his mouth, and reveals a stained jet black maw. It takes most of her willpower not to scramble back as she is hit with a sudden, icy revelation that this dragon is _shade infected_. 

Slowly she edges back, eyes never wavering from the pair in front of her, as she breathes in deeply and quietly. What had previously felt like a clear, if not partially sick odor, now felt like a thick sludge slipping slowly down her esophagus. Her curiosity has been quenched. She needs to warn Axial about this dragon and it’s strange hatchling - she pauses again. That would be a terrible idea to mention the hatchling to him because he might come here anyways to try and rescue her. Everyone knows that shade infected dragons don’t keep companions around for company, unless they intend to eat them later. As unfortunate as it is, there is nothing Ultra can do for this hatchling. Ultra just won’t mention her when she warns her friend. 

Thoroughly disquieted, Ultra does not linger any longer and quickly retreats back into the forest before either dragon can notice her brief presence. 

As the two finish up the last bit of their remaining meal, the imperial reaches for the waterskin and frowns at how empty it feels. Not only do they need more food, but they’re also in desperate need of fresh water. He’ll have to head south along the Tangled Woods’ border towards the Sea of a Thousand Currents. He should be able to find something there. Until then, he reclines back, rolling onto his side to face the fire. Cybil immediately climbs over him and flops down against his chest, making herself comfortable. The younger of the two falls asleep quickly, and the older one soon follows.

* * *

Cub slowly wakes to the gentle thump of the hollow logs bumping against the moss covered stones that litter the side of their small, temporary lair. With her eyes still closed, she listens to the soft current of the river delta and imagines the brown paste lazily weaving through half-made dams. Brown and orange leaves would move between sticky, prickly brangle and blue luminescent mushrooms until disappearing into the ethers of her young mind. She nestles further into the moist grass, lulled by the river and the birdsong overhead. She drifts back to sleep. 

Axial watches her with a fond smile, adjusting the blue linen serving as her blanket to better cover her, before lightly petting her pink hair. It’s just the two of them; Ultra left an hour ago to hunt north of their location. The warmth in his chest grows as he regards his daughter.  _ His _ hatchling. In moments like these, in the quiet of the shadows with the dawn of the future still blearily and reality thin, he almost forgets that this isn't a dream. He praises the Shadowbinder in her kindness for this reminder. He lightly chuckles. By the gods, he thinks, he's starting to sound like Ultra.

"Well sweetie," He whispers softly as he picks Cub up. His heart aches slightly as she lets out a small upset noise at being disturbed. "I know, I know, but I can't just leave you all by yourself." 

He readjusts her till she's cradled in his arms. They have a few hours worth of a trek before they'll reach the borders of the Sea of a Thousand Currents. Cub will be up before then, but for now; Axial presses a kiss to his sleeping hatchling's forehead, making sure to step carefully so as not to disturb her further.

Just as Axial had guessed, Cub had woken up only an hour into their trek and immediately attempted to scramble out of his arms. He managed to catch her before she could fall onto the ground, acquiescing to her protests and setting her down just in time to watch her take off ahead screeching. He spent most of the following hour watching her jump on and off old fallen logs, traversing over small brooks, and peering at any and every plant they passed by. At one point, he did have to slow her down, afraid she may get too far ahead and race into the waters of the nearby coast, careless of the strong, dangerous currents. Taking her hand in his own, he had managed to wipe away her initial pout as they swung their hands together between them. This kept her entertained as they reached the border of the Sea of a Thousand Currents. 

The coastline between the Tangled Forest and the Sea of a Thousand Currents is a  _ humble _ comparison to some of the other coasts that Axial has seen within his short lifetime. It is less of a sandy shore and more of a sturdy swampland that manages to gradually incline into the ocean rather than suddenly jut out like the craggy rocks decorating the sides of the distant Sunbeam Ruins. Fragments of swamp and rivulets of broken off streams from hidden rivers traversed down the incline into the murky waves weakly lapping at the brown shore. With that said, there are still plenty of raised mounds decorating most of the shoreline, specifically in the direction of the nearby Wasteland. A feeble mist curls around the water, but it is otherwise a clear, early morning. 

Axial starts to set up their makeshift rod and net while allowing Cub to play near the water, not too far from him. He’s fine if she ducks a few toes in and splashes herself - she needs a bath soon and the silt waters of their home  _ really _ doesn’t help - so as long as she stays within his sights, it’s fine. He smiles to himself as he listens to her shriek with delight at the cold, yet refreshing water. She doesn’t wade in too deep; the water only reaches her ankles, but the tides bring a happy “coo” as she crouches down to splash in it. She’s so distracted by the pleasant and amusing waves that she fails to notice her father until it’s too late! With a mighty swoop, Axial scoops Cub up into his arms and laughs loudly as she lets out a gleeful shriek and immediately starts to kick wildly. It’s when she manages to accidentally dig the heel of her foot into his chin that he sets her down.

Rubbing the sore spot, he pulls out some centaur oats for Cub to chew on and some dried jerky for himself. He makes sure Cub eats her food and doesn’t try to ‘plant’ the oats in the wet sand before letting her go back to splashing around in the shallow part of the water. Every so often, Axial checks on the rod and net, but mostly keeps his attention glued to his daughter. 

Elsewhere, the imperial awakens abruptly, rising around the same time as the sun. He looks to the still sleeping Cybil and carefully sits up, lifting her as he does so and trying his best to let her sleep. She stirs for a moment, but then calms, having grown used to this kind of early travel as the days progress. As the imperial gets up, he checks and makes sure they have everything and that the fire has been put out. Once all is in order, they then set off. He walks parallel to the dark, shadowy treeline nearby, still carrying the quiescent hatchling. He yawns as he goes, still tired but determined to reach the waterside as quickly as he can.

Cybil wakes up midway of the imperial’s trek, immediately voicing her irritation. She’s hungry, still tired, thirsty, and  _ very _ bored. The imperial has no idea how to remedy all of her needs at this moment, so he just tries to reassure her that they'll get to eat, drink, bathe, and all sorts of other great things soon. She still simmers angrily, as young hatchlings do, but she doesn't do much other than pout and whine. They're nearing the coastline; the water is visible and the sound of waves crashing onto a sandy shore are prominent. 

After nearly another hour of being held, Cybil excitedly tries to wiggle her way out from the imperial’s grasp. 

She wants to go play in the waves and dig on the shore- and she just manages to escape her larger counterpart’s grasp to do so. The imperial let’s out a gasp and hurries to pursue her. He’d like it if she didn’t go into the potentially dangerous waters alone, but he's not very quick on his feet and almost immediately finds himself wheezing and trying to catch his breath.

The imperial slows down to a stop, hacking out specks of spit and black goop as he struggles to catch his breath. His heart rate picks up at a child’s sudden, distant scream and looks frantically for Cybil. His terror only ebbs a little when he spots her running alongside the cliffs of the Wasteland, down into the threshold of the Tangled Woods, closer to the shoreline of the Sea of a Thousand Currents. 

He starts to hurry over, but then freezes when he spots a mirror in the distance. Ah, oh no,  _ okay _ . How does he tell Cybil to come back if he can’t even catch his own breath? 

He watches with baited breath as Cybil notices the other small hatchling and,  _ ah _ , watches as she sprints towards the little girl and the stranger without a second thought. Warily, he looks over at the other adult dragon and is met with a heated, distrustful, and scared glare. It’s not like this is the first time another dragon has looked at him this way, but it doesn’t stop his nervous heart beating that much faster. No, he will just have to wait here and absolutely  _ not _ get any closer, unless he has to retrieve Cybil. 

Meanwhile, Cybil, untethered by the politics of being an adult, hurries forward towards Axial and Cub. “Hi!!!!” She greets loudly. 

Cub immediately stops what she’s doing when she hears Cybil’s greeting. She gives the other girl a brief, curious look before mirroring the other’s grin and waving back. “Hi! You’re not supposed to be here.” Still, it doesn’t stop Cub from hurrying over and hugging the other child with a strength that makes Axial wince. They lose their balance and the two tumble to the ground. There, lying on the dirt, Cub sits up and offers her hand to Cybil. 

“I’m Cub!” 

Axial gives the girls a distracted smile, once, before settling his attention back on the lone figure in the distance (though not as distant as Axial would have liked). Even from here, he can see the visible tendrils of shade slip out from his skin like worms wriggling under the sunlight before dipping back into their vessel. It’s instinct that makes him want to bare his canines, but he resists for the sake of the fledglings. 

Speaking of which, Axial turns his attention back to the other fledgling. Where had this child come from? She couldn’t have possibly traveled with the infected dragon. Maybe she had been separated from her clan? But as he watches Cub and Cybil give each other a high five and jump around excitedly, he couldn’t help but notice that, not only is this fledgling alive and unharmed (if not a little malnourished), but she is also happy. 

If she had been separated or knew that she is being hunted down for food, it didn’t show. 

Axial reaches for his bag, digging around for extra food. Could this hatchling possibly be traveling with the shade-infected? As he pulls out some more centaur oats, he shakes his head silently. No, that can’t be right. Everyone knows shades don’t keep companions that they don’t intend to eat and even if he’s just shade-infected, that imperial looked far from healthy. 

Regardless, he should offer the fledgling some food. 

Before he can, he hears the imperial weakly call out; “Cybil, come over here.” Axial immediately looks over just as Cybil does the same and the imperial almost seems to deflate under the gaze. Axial looks back to Cybil; her earlier smile has faltered and she glances to Axial, a little surprised to see him staring at her, then back to imperial with some concern. 

Before he can see how she reacts, Cub impatiently reaches over and sticks her dirt covered hands in front of Cybil’s face. “Hey! We’re still playing.” 

When that doesn’t work, Cub reaches out and grabs at Cybil’s wrist. She steps back towards the shoreline and roughly tries to pull Cybil with her. Immediately, Cybil’s attention snaps to Cub. It’s clear that she isn’t sure what to do with how she keeps casting nervous glances back towards the imperial, but eventually she relents and lets Cub pull her closer. 

Still, she keeps glancing back towards the imperial. 

She reminds Axial so much of his own daughter. He looks back to where the shade-infected imperial is now sitting and tries to imagine the little girl near him. Instantly, he feels a sense of nausea crawl around inside him as his heart picks up a beat. He holds the stare for a beat, before looking back to his daughter and Cybil. 

“Cub, come here please.” When Cub grunts in return, his warm tone turns into something more stern. “Come here,  _ now _ .” 

With blatant reluctance, Cub changes her course and pulls Cybil closer to her father. “Look! I found a friend.” As if she had discovered Cybil all on her own, Cub proudly shows off the other hatchling. 

Axial looks over the other child. She’s around the same height as his daughter; her brown skin is a hue or two darker, but her primary gene, Tiger, is as lightly present as Cub’s is. Unlike Cub’s long, pink hair, Cybil’s is a light brown, short, but just as wispy and curly as his daughter’s. And just like Cub, her eyes are a bright red with a single, small nub of a horn beginning to protrude from the top of her forehead. 

He crouches down so they’re closer in eye level and puts on a friendly expression in an effort to not frighten the girl. “Hey,” He wiggles his fingers in lieu of a wave. “Cybil, was it? How old are you?” 

Cybil looks at this strange four-eyed dragon and then contemplates the question, looking down at her hands to count on her fingers. She squints. After a moment, she holds up four fingers, grinning up at Axial proudly. 

Axial smiles widely at the young one. “Wow! That’s a lot of years- Cub, honey, she’s the same age as you.” 

But by this point, Cub has grown cranky and impatient. She tugs on Cybil’s arm to get her new friend’s attention back and gives her father a glare. “We were playing.” 

Cybil looks at Cub and then tries to pull her arm out of Cub’s grasp. As she does, she checks again to make sure the imperial is still there, relieved to see he hasn’t disappeared. 

He ruffles his daughter’s hair, but his tone is firm as he speaks. “Don’t tug her arm like that. You wouldn’t like that, right? Let go and if she wants to play, then you can play. Okay?” 

Cub lets go of Cybil’s arm, but immediately crosses her arms. Before Axial can stop her, she sprints over to the rod and net and plops down, facing away from them both. She lets out a stormy huff, as if she might cry, but doesn’t. Axial lets out a soft sigh. 

His attention shifts back to Cybil.

Axial cocks his head towards the imperial sitting down and now carefully scooping water from the coastline to tentatively drink it. “Who’s your...who’s he? Do you know him?” 

He watches as the imperial’s hand slips back into the water, waiting to see if the shade goo will mix in and contaminate it. Yet the inky blackness coating the imperial’s hands and wrists seems to stay in place. Like oil, it seems to repel the water around it, making it difficult to mix into. 

Cybil looks over at her large companion and grins, “Inkytoes!” The shade infected dragon’s ears perk up slightly when he hears his “name” mentioned and glances over to see what the matter may be. When he determines she’s not calling for him, he goes back to drinking from the coast. 

“Inky...toes?” If she wasn’t referring to a shade-infected dragon, that would be, by far, the cutest name  _ ever _ . By the gods, it’s strange to see this fledgling regard the other...dragon so affectionately. So much for his other ideas. He glances back to, ha, Inkytoes and looks him over. Getting past the shade (which is hard to do since the other guy seems to be swimming in it), Inkytoes looks like another unfortunately famished and skinny vagabond. Even his brown clothes look weathered and torn from this distance. He almost seems- well, he still seems dangerous given the shade, but he almost also seems just...sad? Or maybe pathetic is the word Axial’s looking for. 

Axial turns to look back at Cybil, pointing towards the other dragon. “So, he’s your friend?” 

Cybil nods enthusiastically. 

Cub, who had been watching Inkytoes for a little bit of time now, is distracted when the rod suddenly begins to tug. Once, twice- she lets out a loud yell and stands. “Daddy! The rod’s moving! Dad!” 

Inkytoes startles at the child’s yell and is immediately on his feet, looking over at Cub with concern on his face. He watches as Axial hurries over and, as anxious as Inky is calm, grabs the rod and begins to reel in a catch. Of course, Cybil follows Axial out of curiosity. 

The two girls sit near the edge, staring with big eyes as the shadow of the catch begins to grow larger. After a few more sharp tugs, a greater leech is pulled out from the water, it’s pink body sporadically twisting around. 

Cybil immediately coos the same time Cub makes a disgusted face. Axial smacks his lips. 

“This will make a good dinner tonight.” He swings it around and sets the writhing thing on the ground. “Careful, these have a nasty bite!” To emphasize this, Axial bares his teeth and over-exaggerates taking a large bite out of nothing. The girls laugh and he chuckles along as he quickly pulls out his dagger and makes quick work killing the leech. 

Axial adjusts where he’s sitting to give the girls a better view of what he’s doing to prep the animal. His attention drifts when he notices Cybil moving closer to get a better view. With ease, he brings it closer for her to see. “They smell awful,” He shares with the little one. “But they taste great.” And then he takes a big whiff of it and immediately starts to gag. Even as he wipes away the tears, he smiles at the sound of Cybil laughing. Encouraged by her laughter, Axial cuts off a small piece of leech meat and, through a series of dramatic hand motions, makes it disappear. He lets out a sharp laugh at the look of astonishment painted on Cybil’s face as she begins to look around for the missing piece. 

With her father and Cybil distracted, Cub returns her attention to the imperial and begins her mission to get closer. 

By this point, Inkytoes has relaxed enough to sit back down and just watch Axial work. He can’t help it, but he can feel the viscous black fluid pooling in his mouth like saliva. Really gross, thick, bitter tasting saliva. Hunger licks at him. He tears his eyes away and looks in the opposite direction just as the inky liquid begins to drip out of his mouth and down his chin. 

Cub manages to make it pretty far; she manages to crawl her way up the side of the hill where Inkytoes has been perched for some time. Closer up, Cub realizes that he’s much taller than her dad and aunt are. She almost has to crane herself backwards to look up at the dragon’s face. He hasn’t noticed her. He looks...sad. And gooey. His face looks very gooey. She watches him for a quiet moment. 

She just wants to touch it. She wonders if it’ll feel like mud. She’s curious. Without really thinking further, Cub inches closer and sticks her hand out to try and touch his chin. 

It’s a knee-jerk reaction when Inkytoes notices the small child reaching for his face; he inhales sharply as he stands up and quickly stumbles backwards away from the kid. Startled by the sudden movement, Cub stumbles back with a cry and falls on her butt, staring with wide eyes at the other dragon. 

Almost immediately, Axial is on his feet. Cybil fast behind his heels. 

Inkytoes’ stares back at Cub with mutual surprise. Should he help her back up? He considers helping her back up and almost moves to do so, but when he sees Axial approaching, his ears practically flatten against his head as he takes several more steps backwards. He stumbles and falls on his butt right as Axial reaches him. He stares at Axial’s snarl, then his gaze trails down to the dagger in Axial’s hand. His heart races and he tries to stutter through an apology. 

Axial glares down the other dragon for a long moment, before turning back to Cub sitting behind him. He looks her over and his shoulders relax when it’s clear she hasn’t been hurt.

“You’re okay, I’m here.” Gently he brushes her hair back. 

Cub’s eyes are now fixed on the dagger still held in his other hand. She winces, mutters a soft “ow” and then rubs at an old scar on her face. 

Axial immediately sheaths the dagger away and tries to put on a happy face. It’s enough to get Cub to smile back at him, but she still looks confused and a little alarmed. He thanks the gods when she is immediately distracted by Cybil and, as if she hadn’t been startled, quickly scrambles to her feet to hurry over to the other girl to play with her. 

Cybil watches the adults for a moment longer, before deciding that things must be fine. This time, she allows Cub to pull her along towards the coastline. 

As they reach the waves, Cub has them stop, turning to Cybil with a very serious expression on her face. She gestures towards the water. “It’s dangerous.” Then, she holds out her hand. "I’m safe so hold my hand.” 

Cybil looks at Cub and nods, her own expression growing equally serious as she takes Cub’s hand. The serious contenenous is broken as she peers into the water excitedly, looking around for water-dwelling creatures.  Cub manages to find a swimming anole and the two go and crouch near to watch it move. Cybil sticks out her tongue in concentration before managing to catch it with her bare hands, offering it to Cub to hold.  Absolutely gobsmacked, Cub accepts the anole graciously and giggles when it wriggles in her grasp. Before she can figure out what to do with it, the anole lightly bites her finger and she drops it with a startled yelp. Embarrassed that she lost her friend’s catch, she finds a smooth rock and offers it to her as an apology. 

Axial watches them for a second before returning his attention on...Inkytoes. “What happened?” 

Inkytoes, who hasn’t relaxed even with the dagger sheathed, starts. “She startled me. Tried to touch my face.” His voice is rough and wet, somehow a mixture of sandpaper and talking past a mouthful of mud. “It was my fault, sorry.” He scoots back a little, further away from Axial. 

Axial looks Inkytoes over, but his expression appears sincere. Behind him, he can hear Cub babbling gleefully,  _ safe _ . He takes in a deep breath and forces his posture to relax. If he stays this rigid and blatantly on edge, Cub will think there is danger nearby and begin to panic. And if she panics, the other one likely will follow suit. And that would just make things more complicated. 

_ ‘However, there is danger _ ,’ His mind reminds him. Axial’s eyes briefly narrow as he looks at the shade residue leaking from the dragon’s mouth. The creature’s mouth. If this wasn’t an imperial that was infected...the dagger tied to his waist feels heavier and it’s an effort to dismiss those thoughts from his mind. A kindness like that couldn’t be given to one of his kind. 

Instead, Axial steps back. “Don’t come near her again.” 

Inkytoes immediately nods. 

He forces a pleasant smile, tone far sweeter than a second earlier. “So, where’d you get the kid?” 

Inkytoes remains tense. He doesn’t stand back up, not wanting to instigate any more aggression from the other dragon. “She was wandering in the Abiding Boneyard alone. I’ve tried to find someone else to care for her, but it...didn’t work out.” He glances past Axial towards the two girls, preoccupied with each other and exploring the beach. “I know I’m not safe to be around, but you don’t need to pretend to be friendly.” 

“I’m not feigning friendliness for your sake.” 

Axial continues. “What happened? Why didn’t it work out?”  _ Did they get infected? _ He does not ask. He crosses his arms as he stares down the other dragon expectantly. 

“She managed to sneak her way back into the wasteland to find me.” He says. “She wasn’t happy that I’d left.” He looks rather guilty as he recalls this. Slowly, he makes an attempt to stand up, keeping a wary eye on Axial. 

Axial lets out a soft hum. That...well, that certainly complicates his initial plans in keeping Cybil away from him. Inkytoes is dangerous, no doubt, but if Cybil is that endeared to him to risk her life in the wasteland just to find him...Axial uncrosses his arms. He’s not sure if separating them will work without her just running away and potentially getting hurt. 

“Do you know how old she really is?” 

Inkytoes stands up fully, just a fraction less tense now that he’s not being loomed over. Axial can’t help but sweat a little as he shifts his weight. He’s  _ very _ tall. Inkytoes doesn’t seem to have noticed.

“She told me she’s four.” 

For a moment, Axial almost forgets who he is talking to. “That’s really interesting.” He looks over to where the girls are. “Cub is four too.” 

As nice as that is, Inkytoes can feel his stomach twisting as hunger sinks its claws further into him. He really needs to eat something soon, or at least get far enough away from the others before the shade within him decides to assert itself. He grimaces. 

“...If I left to find food, would you be able to watch Cybil for me?” He knows there’s food in the water there, but if he exerts that much energy catching it, he definitely won’t be able to stay within control for very long. 

Axial regards Inkytoes with suspicion. “...how do you know I won’t just leave with her?”

Inkytoes looks back at the girls as well and considers Axial’s question for a moment. 

“You seem to treat your own kid well, and even if you did leave, at least she’d be safe. She might try to find me again, though.” He can already feel the exhaustion seeping into his bones. If he keeps lingering, it might come out and attack these dragons. A fresh stream of black fluid slowly starts to trail down out of one of his nostrils. “I really need to leave.” 

He takes a few steps back towards the woods. 

Axial still has so many questions, but he clenches his mouth shut when he watches the fluid seep out. He tries not to gag and does a poor job at it. He nods. “Fine.” And looks away. “I’ll watch her,” Whether that means leaving or not, he’s not sure. He covers his mouth, stomach twisting. “Please go.” 

Inkytoes mutters a quick, relieved thank you before turning around and half-jogging into the shadowy woods adjacent to them. He stumbles a little as he goes, disappearing into the treeline.  Axial continues to watch the tree line even as he hears his daughter say from behind him, “you gotta throw it”. There’s the sound of a small grunt and then a  _ plop _ as the rock hits the water’s surface and immediately sinks. He feels his stomach sink along with it. Axial tries not to imagine the fate of whatever unfortunate creature comes his way. He just hopes the imperial doesn’t come back out  _ for them _ . 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a story my friend (Viperfishy-FR) and I have been writing since 2015. We have almost all of it archived and, recently, I've started to go back and edit some of the story so it reads easier.  
> (I would add her as a co-creator if she had an account)
> 
> I'm not sure how frequently I'll be able to post because I'm still in an environment that doesn't really...encourage extra free time to things that aren't Korean, but later on I should be able to post more. 
> 
> Like said, as the chapters go along, I will make sure to add any tags or warnings applicable. If you feel that something should be tagged that's been missed, feel free to let me know.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Crew takes a bath and Ultra witnesses something upsetting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Descriptions of Violence and Animal Death & Strong Language 
> 
> Relatively Short, but I hope you enjoy!

**Continued...**

When Axial had told her that today was going to be a good day, she had just scoffed at him. Now, however, if he were to say that to her again, she would vehemently respond with a resounding _No_ , it was _Not_ going to be a good day. Do not mistake her, the scavenging went well- she found plenty of insects, plants, as well as other miscellaneous items. No, no it was this lingering sense that someplace, _somewhere_ , there was danger. Not the usual danger expected from the Tangled Woods, just the idea that this _infected imperial could be_ -

She bites back a shiver and pushes onwards. 

Ultra won’t admit it, but heading back early and towards the border between the Sea of a Thousand Currents and the Tangled Woods is more for her own sanity than for Axial’s safety. Her stomach has been twisting all day and if she can just _see_ that he’s fine, that would be enough. She’s close enough; when she stops walking and listens, she can hear the distant, muffled crash of the waves against the coastline. Perhaps, when she gets there, Axial will have caught something and they can have their second meal-

There’s a strange gurgling noise and Ultra turns to her right where the sound of several leaves and twigs have snapped. With quiet ease, she creeps up closer towards the bushes and ignores the warning signs blaring in her head as she slowly leans into the bush and peers out the other side. 

It’s the imperial again. He’s collapsed on the ground, his back towards her, body shaking with effort. There’s another gurgle before a rush of black fluid spills from his mouth and wraps around his head, neck, and upper back as well as arms. Not far from him is a Golden Bantam Fangar runt unsure of the dragon and slowly stepping closer to better sniff at the form. Ultra watches as the shade continues to circle around him, forming tendrils and other amorphous shapes, before picking him back up like a gross, gooey puppet. He just stands there. 

Suddenly, a tendril shoots out and skewers the Fangar, lifting it up and above the imperial’s head as it whines and thrashes while its blood begins to stain its white fur red. Ultra blinks and then bites back a gasp as more tendrils ease up to the desperate animal, wrapping around limbs, and then yanking it in half. It’s whining stops as the unholy sound of guts slopping down onto the ground assault Ultra’s earfins. She presses a hand to her open mouth and watches in horror as the shade begins to rip pieces out from the carcass, envelope it, and then continue. Sometimes, it drops cleaned bones. He walks closer; a slow, calm, but stilted walk, towards the corpse and kneels carefully down and, for an honest second, bows his head just enough to look like he’s saying a prayer. 

But that notion is dashed quick as he opens his mouth wide and small, shade arm-like appendages crawl out and towards the Fangar pile. They dig into the mess and drag the ripped pieces back to his drooling maw- and at this angle, Ultra isn’t sure if the hands either pull it down into the imperial’s throat or if he swallows it whole. She’s sure that she doesn’t really want to know. 

She’s not sure if she’s gone entirely unnoticed. It hasn’t reacted to her, but there’s a chance that if she moves, it might hear her. However, if she doesn’t move and it looks behind itself, it will likely see her peering out. It could also already know she’s there. Still, Ultra sucks in a soft breath as she quietly and slowly brings her arms closer to her chest, before taking slow, silent steps backwards and out from the bushes. She prays to the Shadowbinder- or any deity for that matter- that she doesn’t step on a branch in her retreat. She keeps creeping backwards until she’s stumbled back against a tree trunk and only then does she stop. 

She finds herself unable to move. Her eyes are still locked on the bushes straight ahead from her as she listens to the pounding of her heart and the muffled tearing not far from her. Distantly, she realizes that her body is trembling and there’s a cold sweat clinging to her skin. She draws in another short, shaky and shallow breath as her legs and hands feel numb. 

She can’t move. Eventually, Ultra manages to slump down at the base of the tree. She stares ahead. At the bushes. Waiting.

Just out of sight, the parasite continues its carnage until only bone and fur remains. When there’s nothing left to eat, the amorphous blobs of fluid start to retreat back onto Inkytoes’ arms, legs, and tail- with some even going back into his mouth and up his nose- and Inkytoes’ body slumps forward and to the side from the corpse as the shade eases the body down till it looks like he’s resting. He lays there, motionless and covered in blood and residual shade. 

* * *

_Alight, Axial, conceal don’t feel. Gotta show the kids everything is fine._ Axial puts on his best smile and approaches the girls. The two fledglings are splashing around in the water; streaks of gold and blue ripples dance around their feet as water sprays upwards and soaks their pants. For a second, they look almost exactly alike. But then one of them turns suddenly towards him, grinning, her scar prominent and Axial’s smile softens. Cub breaks away from Cybil long enough to offer a handful of small, round pebbles. 

He takes one and chuckles. “For me? Oh, you shouldn’t have.” 

Cybil moves to follow Cub, looking to the other girl, then to Axial. And then, she looks behind him and her eyebrows pinch together when she realizes that Inkytoes is nowhere in sight. At first, she looks confused, but within seconds it turns into worry as she looks back up to Axial questioningly. 

He kneels down, now close enough to catch her, if need be. “He’s coming back.” He gives her a reassuring smile before holding up the rock he had just been given. “Want to see a neat trick?” 

Despite still looking very unsure, Cybil nods and watches as Axial throws the rock with all his strength towards the water. Somehow, it manages to skip twice. He- honestly he expected it to sink, he must be getting better at this. He chuckles a little and looks to the girls. 

Cub stares at the spot with an expression of wonderment and- Axial immediately laughs as Cub feverently begins to chuck the rest of her rocks into the water, undeterred at how far they aren’t going. He looks to Cybil, relieved to see that worried expression gone as the little one begins to copy him too. She’s definitely not throwing them right either, but he appreciates the little ones’ determination. 

“That’s it! You guys are doing such a good job.” 

Cub lets out a triumphant shout as one of her rocks finally skips once across the water. “Look! Look! Look!” She jumps in place, yanking and tugging at his sweater sleeve, emphatically pointing towards the spot. “Look, I did it!” 

Axial nods and gestures in affirmation that, yes he _did_ see that and, yes, it _was_ very impressive. “Good Job, kiddo, I knew you could.” He gives her an affectionate hair ruffle before standing back up. “Just stay in the shallows, dad has to go check on the net.” 

He moves to his net, frequently casting glances back to the girls (and to the tree line), before hauling the net back onshore. Already he can see bits of vegetation and some crawfish and snails in the net, but that doesn’t mean there couldn’t also be a few unfortunate fish too. With her early victory, Cub chucks the rest of her rocks all at once and laughs when the water splashes her. She pats the surface a few times and watches Cybil continue to chuck a few of her own rocks, before growing bored. She wades a little closer to the dirt and sand and sits on the damp ground, spreading her legs out into the water, and basking in the sunlight. 

Cybil throws one, then two more rocks before eventually feeling tired herself. She walks over and sits next to Cub, for a moment. Her gaze slips back to where she last saw Inkytoes. Then, after a few more minutes of staring, she gets up and begins to walk towards the forest. Maybe he’s hiding in there? Whether or not he is, Cybil is, in no way, letting Inkytoes leave her behind again- if he did leave. 

Immediately, Axial spots Cybil. He stops untangling the net and with practiced ease, sweeps the fledgling off her feet. “Oh no you don’t.” He lets out a grunt as Cybil immediately begins to struggle in his grip, letting out a long and loud “Nooooo” as she violently kicks her legs. “Inkytoes told me, before he went to get food, that you were in need of a _dire_ bath.” 

At the word ‘bath’, her yelling becomes _more_ pronounced. 

He keeps a firm grip on the girl, heading over to his daughter who’s attention has been drawn on the pair. “Now, sweetie, before you try to run, consider-” He dashes forward as soon as she scrambles off to the right. She barely manages a few steps before he hooks his arm under her and neatly lifts her off the ground as well. With two squirming hatchlings in his arms, Axial whistles a little merry tune as he heads back down to the shallow, clean bank for an impromptu bathing. 

* * *

When Ultra finally moves, she winces at how stiff her limbs have become. It’s grown quiet and the shade hasn’t moved through the bush yet to kill her. It seems like she may be safe. As she stands up, her leg joints crack and tremble slightly. She forces out a long breath and brushes at her clothes and ignores her racing heart. She needs to _move_. She doesn’t know if that shade infected...infected beast is still there or if it’s moved or if it’s above her (and she quickly looks up, relieved to find nothing but the gnarled tangle of the forest’s branches), but staying frozen here isn’t helping. 

And how far _is_ the border of the Sea of a Thousand Currents from here? 

If her heart was racing before, it’s practically vibrating out of her chest right now. With all her strength, Ultra rips her gaze away from the bushes and rushes out towards where the border should be. 

What if it’s already left? What if it headed this way? What if it found Axial and Cub and by the time she gets there, she will stumble onto Axial being lifted in the air, skewered and gasping for breath, his hand o _ut as the shade rips him in half-_

Hot, sweltering fury burns through her veins as a deep, purple shadowy mist begins to appear around her clenched hands. She won’t let this happen. She won’t freeze this time. If she runs into that shade again, imperial or not, she won’t be the one to back away with fear first. The underbrush is crushed underfoot as she sprints down the more even path, gracefully dodging low hanging branches, ignoring the sting of branches that manage to snag on her clothes and skin as she runs past. She’s louder than she should be, but she can’t waste time being quiet. She can’t risk being too late.

Unlike the border between the Wasteland and the Tangled Forest, there is no gradual shift between the Sea of a Thousand Currents and her home region; there is the gnarled wood and then suddenly there are a few yards of open dirt and sand and then water. 

When Ultra bursts through the wood’s foliage and into that open expanse, she expected to see the shade, expected to see the worst, attacking her family. Instead, she can see Cub leaning against Axial as her father cheerfully dries another pearlcatcher. The same one that had Ultra had seen traveling with the shade infected monster the other night. She stumbles and lands on her hands and knees. 

“What the fu-” Ultra takes an unsteady step up, loses her balance, and manages to succeed in her second attempt. How did he find her? Did she find him? Did he find her alone or with that shade? Did he talk to that shade while Cub was Right There?! She lets out a hiss and stumbles forward. Her voice raises. “What the hell are you doing?” 

Axial, to his defense, briefly stops his struggle with the agitated girl, damp towel barely holding her prisoner as she’s more than a quarter out of his lap. He owlishly blinks up at Ultra. “What? Wait, Ultra what are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in the North side?” 

Ultra might strangle him. “Don’t! No, answer the fucking question.” 

“Language!” Axial immediately attempts to cover Cybil and Cub’s ears as best as he can. 

She begins to pace. “Do not.” She fixes her hijab and lets out another long breath. “I just saw a shade violently rip apart some gods forsaken beast not even ten feet from here and here you are...just...washing its kid like-” She lets out another grunt and rounds on him. “Did you find this child alone? Please tell me that’s why you’re being this clueless and this-this careless-” She searches her friend’s own horrified expression and then pinches the bridge of her nose, shoulders trembling. “I-I thought it..it could have hurt you all.” 

“Ultra…” Axial twists in place to better face her as he reaches for her hand. “...it’s okay. Nothing happened to us. We’re fine.”

She shakes her head, mouth screwed shut and shoulders trembling, swallowing a hiccup she barely manages to hold back the tears building in her eyes. Her face is flushed. She feels overwhelmed. “I…” She grimaces and draws in a shaky breath. “We need to go. It’s still too close. We’re in danger.” 

Axial grimaces. “Uh, wait-”

“We’ll need to head towards the East along the coastside before we can head back into the forest.” Ultra continues on, walking over towards Cub and picking the little one up. She glances to Cybil in Axial’s lap and squints. “I guess we can take her until we get to the nearest town, then we can find her another, healthier clan to leave her with-”

“-Ultra hold on-” 

“-We cannot take another mouth in, you already have _one_ child.” 

“Ultra!” Ultra stops suddenly at Axial’s raised voice and looks at him. His angry expression falls away as he stands and holds Cybil carefully in his own arms. He has the grace to look...guilty and-

Ultra squints at Axial. “We aren’t-”

“-I agreed to watch over her till he came back.” He admits. “He was fine when he asked, I mean he was still infected, but he kept his distance and just seemed scared and-” At Ultra’s soured expression, he hurriedly presses on. “I-I didn’t realize he did that so close-”

“You didn’t realize!?” Cub winces in fear as Ultra steps forward, widely gesturing towards the forest. “You TALKED to a shade infected imperial. You’re telling me that-that you let something as dangerous as that actually get close to…” She brings her hand to rest on Cub’s back. 

He opens his mouth, but closes it. 

“I...I would have thought you’d at least put her safety above stupid shit like this but…” She shakes her head and steps back. “I’m starting to rethink how responsible you are. If this wasn’t just another mistake-”

“-Ultra, stop we are not-” He moves forward, but she steps back. For a brief moment, she looks towards Cybil, tucked into Axial’s side, and then at her friend. And then, away. “When you find us, you _will_ be alone.” And with that, the conversation is over and Ultra begins to walk towards the east and away from Axial. Axial listens as Cub's sobs grow softer with distance until both turn towards the forest and disappear inside. He really messed up this time. 

He looks down to the little one tucked in his arms, looking out to where Cub disappeared, and gently pats her back when she lets out another whimper. His heart aches and he lets out a sigh. 

When Inkytoes starts to stir and sit up, he isn’t sure how long it has been. Within the gnarled forest, time easily slips away with the ever present twilight and pure, unyielding void the Tangled Forest offers to anyone brave enough to venture inside. It’s a relief to the eyes, but really he just feels rather ill, which is understandable because he did just binge on several pounds of dog meat. Dog-like meat. Meat. Anyways, even if most of the creature was directly absorbed by the shade, he still feels gross. He stands and starts to trudge slowly back towards the waterfront, looking down at his bloody hands and wiping them on his shirt. He then stares down at his blood and shade stained shirt. 

He’ll have to try and wash himself in the water before he goes back to Cybil. 

It’d probably be better if he just goes further into the shadow territory to wash away the blood since it will be away from the kids and-and Axial. He continues to walk, taking his sweet time, and doing his best to ignore the nausea. At least he’s not hungry anymore, he thinks. 

He manages to find a small creek that looks deep enough for him to comfortably sit inside. He heads down towards the water, stepping into it, clothes and all, and starts to scrub himself clean. He splashes the water onto his face and body, washing as much blood and shade that he can away. Disgust doesn’t wash off him as easily; he thinks back to the poor Fangar, biting back bile building in his throat, as he avoids looking too closely at the remaining gore that managed to cling to him. Eventually, he steps out from the water and wrings his clothes out a little. He follows the creek down to border where the forest clears out and the coast becomes clear. He stands there for a moment, soaking in the sun. As soon as he’s not soaking wet anymore, he begins to walk back towards where he’s sure he left Cybil with Axial. 

He’s sure he got most of the blood off of himself, but there’s still probably little stains on his clothes here and there. He hopes Axial doesn’t react badly to that. As trudges east, he spots Axial with Cybil, but after a quick glance, notes that Cub isn’t anywhere near him. Where is she? As he looks around, his eyes lock with the mirror’s gaze. 

Axial looks...he’s not sure how to describe it, but different. 

Either way, he’s relieved when the other dragon sets Cybil down on the ground and doesn’t try to keep her from him. Cybil immediately runs over to him and he reaches down to pat her on the head. She hugs his leg and he looks back over to Axial who has gone back to his net. 

“Thank you for watching her again.” She looks so much cleaner than before. He picks up his small companion and she clings to him tightly. He looks over at Axial again.

Axial pauses for a moment in his ministrations before picking up his items and catches. “Don’t mention it.” He hefts the stuff over his shoulder. 

There definitely is a change in the mood and even though he really wants to ask where the other girl went, he doesn’t. He should probably just...stay out of it. He watches the mirror walk away from them and then looks back to Cybil. “Did you eat?”

The little girl shakes her head. 

“Well, let’s find you food then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually had to edit out quite a lot with this one because of character POV. When we first wrote this back in 2015, it was more RP format, so we'd focus on all characters thoughts and feelings. To make it easier to read, I sadly had to edit out cute little thoughts and feelings of rebellion from the girls, but there will be plenty of other times in the future.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another chance encounter between the two groups leaves a lot of mixed feelings and some scars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: 
> 
> References to Cannibalism and Strong Language.

Inkytoes has lost count of how long they’ve been traveling in the vast plaguelands again, however they haven’t encountered anyone since their last...adventure and for that, Inkytoes’ is grateful. Though while he’s sure Cybil would love the company, it’s just safer in general to steer clear of other dragons. 

The ground has gradually shifted from slick and sticky to a drier plateau while the humid heat of the Wasteland has shifted to the Shattered Plains’ moderate dry heat as they travel closer to the border of the Dragonhome. Ahead, under the relentless sun, the cracked ground beautifully shimmers, exhibiting nothing but another barren wasteland like the Abiding Boneyard. Luckily, they’ve been doing well with food and water in these recent days that traveling along this dry patch between the boundaries shouldn’t be too difficult. 

He glances back at Cybil cheerfully walking behind him, attempting to grab at his slow meandering tail, and smiles. 

In the distance, unnoticed by either dragon, sits a moderately sized town with several small mud huts. Under the shimmering heat, a few huts disappear. Then, reappear. At this distance, they almost look like boulders. 

Sweat trails down the side of Axial’s face and drips down from his jaw as his sweater sticks uncomfortably to his shoulders where Cub sits. He keeps firm hands on her legs as she excitedly twists around, cooing and gasping at the change of scenery around them. To be honest, there _isn’t_ much to really look at out in the plains, but Axial wasn’t about to curb the fledgling’s wonder. It’s been a few days since they’ve traveled out; with their home still not too far behind them and their destination still more than a few days of a journey ahead. Axial looks over to Ultra, whose face has become practically glued to her new scroll. 

She trips over a protruding crack from the ground, flails, and then quickly catches herself and Axial can’t help but snort. 

“Is the scroll that good that you can’t be bothered to watch where you’re going?” Cub giggles when Ultra shoots him a squinty-eyed look as she primly brushes the dust from her robes. “Be a right shame if you took a wrong step and ended up disappearing down one of those cracks.”

“You’re lying again.” She says. “You’re going to teach Cub bad habits.” Still, Ultra carefully rolls up the scroll and places it back into her scroll case tied securely around her waist. She gives him a ‘are you happy’ look, to which Axial shrugs. 

He grins up to his daughter. “Exaggerating isn’t a crime-”

“-Lying can be under certain situations-”

“-and I wouldn’t say those habits are bad.” He continues undeterred, chuckling when Cub immediately parrots back ‘ _bad_ ’. 

Cub settles her chin on her father’s bald head as the two continue to bicker back and forth while scanning the horizon of the cracked earth around them. Time crawls slowly forward and despite the light of the sun in place of the usual darkness, the heat quickly lulls in a sleepy weight to the hatchling’s shoulders. She slumps further over her father’s head, staring without direction; mostly she sees some boulders, cracked dirt, some distant mountains, a single shrub, a tall dragon being attacked by a flying thing, another rock-

Axial winces when Cub sharply tugs on one of his earfins. “Cub, honey, we talked about this. Don’t pull on dragon’s ears to get their attention. Use your words.”

Cub pats his head this time and he looks up. She emphatically points out towards the right. “Birds!” She looks to where she’s pointing, then back to her father. “I saws birds!”

Sure enough, when Axial looks out towards that direction, he can see a clear skirmish between some unlucky dragon and a few raptorik. Poor bastard must have wandered into Talonok territory. He looks over to Ultra. 

Immediately, she frowns. “Absolutely not.” 

“Oh, come on.” Axial glances back towards the distant fight- if he can call it one. With the way that raptorik is swooping down on that dragon, the dragon hardly has a chance. “We should do something.”

“We’d be putting ourselves at risk, it’s not worth it.”

Axial moves to step in front of her. “It’s simple: we save this poor sap’s life, they owe us a _favor_.” His top eyes squint as he grins and leans closer to Ultra’s unimpressed face. She lets out a low growl and Axial immediately leans away. “Besides, if we do nothing, what will that teach Cub?” 

“That extortion is morally acceptable.” Ultra supplies. 

Axial shrugs. “I mean, it _is_ better than letting some dragon just die.” 

Ultra stares at Axial for a long moment before her shoulders dip down and she lets out a long groan. “Fine, but I will be reluctant in all of this.” 

“Deal.” 

They turn and hurry closer. 

The dragon is tall, but still incredibly thin. Whoever it is, they’re knocked to the ground barely keeping the beastman back with their arms as they sporadically kick at it with their feet. The raptorik pecks and claws at the dragon’s arms before letting out a pained cry when the dragon manages to land one good kick to its belly, giving the dragon just enough time to scramble out from under the bird and scoop up, what appears to be, a small hatchling around Cub’s…

Oh. Oh well… _this_ is a thing. 

Axial watches as- what was the imperial’s name? As that one imperial manages to run about 10 feet away before the raptorik recovers and chases after. The other raptorik manages to swoop down and knock into the imperial from behind. The imperial immediately curls in on himself as he crashes to the floor, his knees and face taking the brunt of the damage, as both raptorik’s swoop and slash their talons deep into the imperial’s back. Somewhere from under him, Cybil is wailing.

As one of the raptorik swoops down to strike the imperial again, it suddenly shrieks in pain as a dark bolt of energy collides into its side and knocking it into the dirt aside from Inkytoes. It doesn’t stay down for long. With a strange squawk, it’s companion helps it up and both prepare to spring forward in attack- but Ultra is faster. She sprints into their space and with gritted teeth, slashes one of the raptorik across the chest with her elongated purple claws. A faint mist of shadow energy and blood spray her face. 

Before the companion can react, Axial pounces on him, dragging his own claws across its eyes and biting into its neck. He rips out feathers and ignores it’s desperate wailing as he manages to tear through flesh as blood begins to spurt from its neck. It thrashes in his grip for a few more minutes and then goes limp. When he lets it go, it drops to the ground with a thud and he blows a raspberry at all the feathers caught in his mouth. He wipes the back of his hand across his blood-stained chin and looks over to where he left Cub. 

She stares back with wide eyes, but looks safe. 

He looks to the imperial. 

The imperial has uncurled out enough for Axial to be able to see Cybil nestled close to his chest, also safe, but with a frightful look on her face. His own gaze is locked onto Axial’s mouth and it takes Axial a moment to realize that there’s still blood drying on his skin. He wipes at it again. 

The imperial (something inky...inky feet?) glances towards Ultra (who has gone very still) and then back towards Axial. From what he can see, he’s not vitaly hurt, but he is bleeding a moderate amount from where he’s been cut along his arms and back. A mixture of red and black stain the dirt underneath and Axial bites back a cringe. At least Cybil’s stopped wailing. 

Axial isn’t sure what to do. If it was anyone else, he’d definitely comment on how this certainly was a close one there, before heavily hinting at a reward for their just service. But this wasn’t anyone. He’s saved from the struggle when Cub suddenly barrels up towards Inky-whoever. “CYB!” She stops short of the oozy man, but doesn’t hesitate to get on all fours to better see Cybil hidden inside. She waves happily. 

Cybil’s face immediately brightens when she sees Cub even when Inky-man scoots backwards at Cub’s approach. He let’s Cybil wiggle out from his grasp and Cybil immediately tackle-hugs her friend. The girls laugh loudly together, the earlier trauma forgotten. 

His attention is torn from the girls as he nervously watches the unfamiliar and angry female mirror begin to approach him. 

Axial blinks as Ultra storms past him towards the imperial and, it takes him a second, before it clicks into place. 

“Ultra, buddy, partner-” He roughly grabs at her wrist, yanking her back to stop her traction, and then recoils when she twists to snarl at him. He let’s go. “Okay, look, we helped them, let’s just go.” 

Her voice is calm when she speaks, but her eyes are far from that. “No.” She breathes in sharply, then out. “Either it is following us, or-or its settled close- Axial I am _not_ going to run the risk of endangering our lives like this.” 

“He’s not trying to hurt us.” 

“Are you kidding me?” She stares at Axial for a long moment. “Are you seriously- no, you’re right, we should wait for it to hurt us. Let’s just-” Ultra promptly squats over the dirt and ignores Axial’s protests. “-lie down right here; we’re ready, come on. Go ahead and rip up our guts. Do it.” She stands quickly and the infected dragon behind her looks incredibly uncomfortable. 

“Axial you have a hatchling.” She presses a sharp claw into his sweater (though not enough to tear it) and when he still doesn’t waver, let’s out a loud yell and violently kicks a pebble. It does not go far. “Why are you so stupid!” 

“Ultra...Ultra please.” He watches as she storms away from the imperial, closer to Cub, kicking any pebble in her way. It’s a tentative win, for the time being. He clears his throat, looking back to the infected dragon still sitting very still on the dirt floor. With the way he’s looking between Cybil and Axial and Ultra, he looks two breathes from making a run for it. 

Axial should let him and yet. He breathes out, shuffles his feet awkwardly, and finally settles for a hand wave. “So...come here often?”

Inkytoes stares at Axial’s wave for a moment, unsure of how exactly to respond to this. He’s not sure if he’s ever been to this specific place before at all, let alone _often_. “...No…?” His voice is hoarse and equal parts nervous and confused. He keeps sending glances towards Ultra as he stands up cautiously. 

Axial watches as Cybil runs to hide behind him, peeking out at Cub playfully. She attempts to climb his leg a little as he looks at his arms with quiet contemplation. Cub attempts to follow Cybil, but Axial cuts her short. With a firm grip on her arm and stern stare, Cub reluctantly (and with a petulance that could match Ultra) listens. She kicks the dirt with feeling. Apathetically, the dirt sends a cloud of dust in her face and she sneezes lightly. 

Axial bites back another grimace. “...Fair.” He looks over to Ultra, who has taken to lying on the ground with her arms covering her eyes in silent rebellion. Slowly, he gestures between the three of them. “Is this..uh, are you...hm- this is a...coincidence, right?” He says weakly. 

Under his grip, Cub chirps at Cybil in an effort to gain the girl’s attention again. Cybil slides down Inkytoes’ leg at the noise and hurries over, running circles around the mirror and pearlcatcher. Axial squints a little. “This is weird.” 

Inkytoes turns his attention back towards Axial when he speaks. “Yeah, it’s weird.” The cuts on his arms and back sting, the oily substance of the shade far from soothing on the open wounds. Absentmindedly, he itches at one on his arm. “Thanks for helping- I appreciate it- but maybe I should leave now.” 

Cub chirps even louder and tries even harder to break free from Axial’s grip. It doesn’t work. So she settles with jumping in place. Axial notices the scratching and hums under his breath. “Do you, hm, do you want any bandages first?” 

Inkytoes is about to politely decline, as he can always tear up scrap fabric to wrap around the injuries later, when Ultra approaches once more. 

“The hell you think you are leaving-” Her teeth are bared, hands encased in purple mist. “You are a danger-” She goes to take a step further, but stops when she feels someone tug weakly at her skirt. She glares down, but her expression softens a little when Cub stares back up at her with worry. Cub shakes her head. A growl escapes Ultra before she can stop it. Cub let’s go with a wide, scared expression and buries herself into Axial’s leg. Cybil pauses running around, moving closer to her friend. 

It hurts a little, but...Ultra sharply breathes in. She has to do this for her family. For the safety of everyone. And if she’s fast enough maybe she can, ugh, maybe she stop the imperial from becoming-

“That is enough, Ultra.” Axial grabs her arm and pulls her back. She hisses out automatically and is surprised when he hisses back just as fiercely. “Just let them go.” 

Behind him, Cub and Cybil have started to lightly cry. Her gaze refocuses on Axial, on his bared teeth, and she sneers. “You need to calm down.” He presses on, his grip tightening. “There isn’t anything we can do-” 

He dodges when she swipes at him. 

“Nothing?” Ultra tries to yank her arm free. “Axial, do you hear yourself? This-” She gestures to the tense imperial. “Is a menace to society. He needs to be put down.” 

“You can’t do that.” She hates to admit it, but Axial is stronger. He yanks her back and she stumbles forward. 

“Why are you protecting a shade!?” 

“Ultra he’s an _imperial_.” When she doesn’t try to struggle, Axial loosens his grip a little bit. “How exactly are you protecting anyone if you just make a shade-infected Emperor? Just-” He grimaces. “-this isn’t...you’re supposed to be the rational one here.” 

“Axial, I saw what he can do. He’s dangerous. I just-”

Inkytoes swallows thickly as panic settles into his gut. These dragons want to kill him. That’s what he’s getting out of the conversation and with Cybil crying- he stops thinking as he lunges forward and attempts to make a run for it. He manages to sweep Cybil up as he hurries past the distracted mirrors and runs as quickly as he can, which is really not very fast at all. As soon as Cybil is ripped from her, Cub’s crying turns into wailing. Immediately, the mirrors stop fighting as Axial rushes to her side while Ultra sprints after Inkytoes. 

She catches up easily. 

With a mist slash, she rips into his back and sinks her claws into his flesh, forcing the imperial to a slower pace so that she can kick him in the shin. “Don’t you _dare_ eat her, you parasite.” 

He falls to one knee, hissing in pain, but hurriedly tries to stumble back to his feet like a deer on ice. The black fluid now beginning to seep from his back, twisting and writhing. He desperately just wants to get away, but he feels like a cornered animal as he clutches Cybil close to himself. Cybil buries her face into his shirt. 

As Ultra prepares another attack, Axial steps in her way, holding Cub. He holds up a free hand. “Please,” he says firmly. “Listen to me when I say this is a _bad_ idea.” When Ultra merely snarls back, Axial presses on. 

“I know you’re afraid of the shade, I’m scared too. He’s scared. And right now, he has control of the shade- I don’t know how, but he does. However, if you keep attacking him _like this_ , he may lose control and then everything you mentioned, Ultra, _will_ happen to us.” He steps closer. “There are two hatchlings here, we’re in the middle of two wastelands, and the next form of civilization _that has proper medicine_ is _hours away_.” 

Ultra allows him to gently grab at her wrist with his free hand, but her shoulders are still very tense. She levels him with a harsh look. “We would be letting...a dangerous threat escape- You didn’t see it eat, Axial. He’s a _monster_.” 

Inkytoes’ eyes grow wide at this, his gaze falling to the ground. There is a horrified version of the guilty look a dog gives you when you show it the shoe that it just chewed up. Except, in this case, it may as well be the remains of that animal. 

He hadn’t realized she had seen him. He feels...his stomach twists horrifically and- and the idea that he could have attacked her at some point and never known- he swallows back bile. He tries so hard to stay far away from other creatures, he feels he’s done well but...how many dragons has he attacked without knowing it because he was-he was in this state? How many dragons has he eaten while unconscious?? 

For a flash, he can remember waki _ng up with flies buzzing around his head and there was a wildclaw lying there, their side split open_ \- He lets out an uneven breath, focusing on Cybil, on the noise of the mirrors, on everything but the thoughts spiraling within his mind. 

“I know.” Ultra stills at Axial’s serious tone. “He’s dangerous.” Axial tightens his hold around Cub, still nestled in his other arm. “When I first saw him, I thought he was nothing more than a puppet who happened to steal some poor hatchling but…” He pauses, considering his words carefully. “I still think he is a puppet, but he’s like a _sentient_ puppet.” 

Ultra’s earlier hopeful expression is quickly replaced by unamused fatigue. “Axial.” 

“Look,” He let’s go of her wrist to emphatically gesture. “He knows he’s a danger, he’s been trying to avoid us like we’ve been trying to avoid him. As far as the pearlcatcher...it sounds like he’s tried to get rid of her, but she finds a way back-” 

Ultra rolls her eyes. “That doesn’t mean much.” 

“Maybe it doesn’t.” Axial tries to keep his voice level. “But he’s still acting for the sake of others and-and for that hatchling.” He gestures to Cybil, peeking at them both with a mixture of confusion and fear. “You were right; this is not our problem, not our responsibility, and by doing this, all we’re risking is something far worse.” 

Ultra’s eyes dart down at Cub, then glances back to Inkytoes, and then to her friend. Slowly, the mist begins to dissipate and after a long pause, it disappears with a tired sigh. “Fine.” She steps back, crossing her arms across her chest. “But if he attacks-”

“-we’ll kill him.” He finishes.

“Don’t interrupt me.” 

Despite herself, Ultra’s shoulders relax and even though she hasn’t stopped scowling, she looks a lot less murderous and frantic. She clears her throat. “We should go. We’re still in Talonok territory and, honestly, this has been more than enough excitement for me.” 

Cub mutters something against Axial’s shoulder, her crying having finally tuckered her out. He adjusts her in his grip and pats her back softly, not exactly happy she fell asleep upset, but also relieved that she wouldn’t have to deal with more of this heightened exchange. 

He nods to Ultra’s words, starting forward and away from the raptorik and Corven’s territory. 

“I’m surprised you don’t want to take the other girl.” 

There is a funny tone in Ultra’s voice that he can’t quite place. He looks back in time to see her walk up to him, stopping beside him. Her tone is soft. “Mr. Bleeding Heart, you called yourself that when you begged me to let you adopt Cub.” 

Axial looks back at the pair- at Cybil pressed tightly against Inkytoes body- and lets out a long sigh. Inkytoes is a danger to every living being, including himself. Cybil is no exception. When Inkytoes left to hunt, he had been afraid of losing control- afraid enough to trust a strange with watching Cybil and- he couldn’t help but remember Ultra’s shaken expression when he came back to their camp that night after their first encounter. 

Cub had been curled up in a pile of cloth, fast asleep, while Ultra was off to the side, her feet in the water of a nearby river, quiet. He had never seen her so despondent and when he had approached her, he had also startled her, and for a moment he saw pure terror written on her face before she realized who he was. He may be the charmer of their clan (self proclaimed), but Ultra was their foundation. And if she’s this shaken by the imperial...well, it made this decision even harder. 

You see, Axial has dealt with many types of dragons and he would like to think that he had a fairly good judge of character. He could tell stories of strong dragons that have died by the weakest of enemies and fragile people who have down improbable tasks. He’s able to lean over to Ultra, point to a stranger in a crowd, and say with confidence that they were going to do great things. He knew well who often had the chips in this game they live in and he knew who was about to fold out. And this dragon here? This was a desperate dragon barely hanging on- and the control that he does have? It’s slipping. It’s slipping like sand in a desert. There is going to be a day when he’ll close his eyes and it’ll be the shade that wakes up. 

And she might be there. Young, fresh, and an easy target. She’ll be confused, scared, but it won’t matter because she’ll be viciously ripped apart by the caricature of her guardian. He knows this, he’s imagined this, and the familiar queasiness settles heavily in his stomach. It isn’t like he hasn’t seen the worst of their culture; he’s seen mangled corpses of dragons, some of which were hatchlings, among other things. But, still, none of those unfortunate ones hadn't looked so much like the one nestled in his arms. 

And yet...and yet. And yet, Axial swallows the bitter taste in his mouth and forces himself to look away. “Guess it must have bled out for her.” 

Ultra makes a face, rolls her eyes, and shakes her head. “Were you trying to sound cool? That didn’t sound cool. That sounded horrible.”

“Your face is horrible.”

It’s worth the swift punch in the arm. 

Inkytoes comes out of his thoughts when he sees Axial and Ultra leaving. He waits a moment before getting up and worriedly looks down at Cybil, grip still tight. He really wishes she hadn’t been so adamant about staying with him. He wishes she would just go with those mirrors and not try to find him again. He...he just wants to be alone. 

But he can’t. He..he sets Cybil back onto the ground and rips strips of his shirt off in a vain attempt to tidy up some of the blood and extra black goo spilling from his arms. He’ll have to work on his back later when they’re in safer territory. Cybil watches with some curiosity as he works and then lets him pick her back up as they wander back into the wasteland and hopefully away from those mirrors once and for all. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inkytoes and Cybil encounter a lost Cub and everyone works on their cardio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Strong Language is Used.

Inkytoes is tired. 

He and Cybil have been wandering around the Abiding Boneyard again for who knows how long and he’s just...he’s exhausted. It’s not even that his feet hurt, but ever since the realization (or the recollection, really) that he could have been unconsciously hurting or killing other dragons every time the parasite took over...He sucks in a breath. His memories ebb and flow and fade in and out- he isn’t sure what he has and hasn’t done, but he’s been hunting, gathering, and scavenging way more than prior for Cybil’s sake. He’s even spent entire nights fishing or just gathering plants as Cybil slept nearby. 

He absolutely does not want to run out of food, even at the cost of his sleep. Even if it means this constant exhaustion. If it means Cybil stays safe, it’s _worth_ it. 

Right now, they’re currently travelling along the Abiding Boneyard’s southwest border with the Starfall Isles to the west and the Windswept Plateau farther south. Cybil is cheerily tailing Inkytoes, happy and full of energy. She, for one, is thrilled that they’ve had so many great things to eat lately and that she hasn’t gone to bed hungry in a while. It’s fantastic! Inkytoes is happy at least one of them is doing better. 

As they continue along, he swears he can see a small child (or potentially a fae?) up ahead. Of course, he could just be hallucinating. How long has it been since he slept? He doesn’t try to think hard on that as he looks down at Cybil to make sure she’s near. Her attention seems to be fixed on the dragon ahead as well. He turns his attention back, moving to stand in front of her, as he approaches the other dragon with caution. But, when he gets close enough, he realizes that this is not only a small fledgling, but that it’s specifically _the_ small fledgling from before. 

He looks around nervously, half expecting her parents to pop out of nowhere and beat him up. 

As soon as Cybil recognizes Cub, she breaks out into a smile and runs over to her friend. “Hi!!!” She shouts. 

Cub lets out a startled noise, dropping her poking stick as the strange lizard she was watching breaks into a high sprint run on its hind legs away from her. She looks around for a moment before her gaze lands on Cybil. Her grin is nearly blinding as the little one eagerly waves back and then full on sprints towards them. “Cybil!!!” She screeches. 

Cybil stops running once they are close enough to touch and begins to hop up and down excitedly. Cub immediately does the same, hugging the other girl close while babbling excitedly. 

Inkytoes might be getting a headache, he’s too tired for this. 

He walks over to where the girls are and, once there, kneels down next to them while looking at Cub and doing his best to try and appear as non-threatening as possible. “What’re you doing all alone out here? Where’s your parents?” He hopes that nothing happened to them. He also hopes that he’s not now forever stuck with two fledglings. One is already hard enough to care for in the middle of nowhere. Two would be _impossible_. 

Despite his efforts, Cub lets Cybil go and curls a little on herself as she regards the imperial. Her dad didn’t really like him, she remembers, and her aunt _really_ didn’t like him at all. She should be suspicious too, but when he doesn’t try to attack her or yell, Cub finds it harder and harder to stay suspicious and angry at the other dragon. Honestly, the longer she stares at his droopy face with all that goo snot and stuff, she finds him quite silly looking. Her shoulders uncurl and she shifts on her heels, rocking a little back and forth and considering his question. 

She points back to the nearby city. “Dad’s in there.” She’s looking around again, not sure why he’s even asking since he should already know this too. Her attention focuses more on her friend. “Auntie’s there too!” 

Inkytoes looks over towards the city. Okay, so all he has to do is return this lost kid to her...dad and...auntie. Whatever. He doesn’t really trust that she’d go back on her own, so he’s going to have to bring her back to the city himself. He looks back to Cub. 

“We have to go back, okay? They’re probably very worried about you.” He briefly looks down at himself; how is he going to go unnoticed in the city. Sure, he’s got a hood that can cover his face, but he’ll still have the oily substance on his extremities. Maybe if he tears up some of the extra fabric on his food to make bandages...yeah, and he could wrap his limbs and tail to cover the goo. It helps that his hood is black anyways so it should blend in. He could even clean up his face and he wouldn’t even need the hood! 

Provided he didn’t leak too much. He has a feeling this isn’t going to end well for him. 

His thoughts are interrupted by a sudden, loud sniffle. He focuses back on Cub only to find that her face has screwed up with guilt as tears begin to build in her eyes. She lets out a hiccup. “I’m sorry.” She tries to rub the tears away, but it only makes a few more tears fall anyways. 

He immediately regrets his words. “No, no, it’s okay! We can go find them right away, it’ll be alright!” He takes his hood off of his shoulders and takes his carving knife out, cutting a bit into the fabric so he could tear it more easily. He puts the knife away and starts to rip long strips out of the fabric, talking as he does so. “Just give me a moment and we can go back, alright?” 

Cub nods and sniffles loudly, tears slowly stopping. 

Once he’s got five somewhat-long strips, he starts to wrap them like bandages around his hands/forearms, lower legs, and the end of his tail. It’s patchy work, but any skin that’s showing through is just as black as the fabric so it all blends together unless someone were to look very closely. He uses the leftover fabric to wipe away any of the dark fluid on his face, tucking the scraps into his pockets so that he can use them for later if need be. Now, he just looks like a scruffy man with questionable fashion choices. 

Cybil and Cub watch this with some confusion. By the end of it, Cub grins and points at the imperial. “You’re a mummy!” She nudges her friend. “You’ve got a mummy!” She does her best to mimic the pose her dad used when he told her this story. Cybil falls into a fit of giggles and does her best to mimic Cub. She’s having a wonderful time. 

Is she calling him her mother? He looks down at the cloth he’s wrapped over himself and his general sickly appearance (eye bags included) and quickly realizes that, no, it’s probably because he really does resemble an undead creature. He just hopes that at least the dragons in this town will just think he’s sick and leave him alone. 

He watches them both for a moment before clearing his throat. “Okay, let’s go. Please stay close to me, okay?” Should he hold their hands? He could but he’s also sure that if Axial were to see him do that with Cub that he might just try to murder him. Still...Oh! He has an idea. Inkytoes kneels down once more and looks at Cub. “Can you sit on my shoulders so you don’t get lost?” Should be easier to keep her from all the shady goo. 

Cub considers this. Her dad also told her not to talk with strangers, but...well he never said that she wasn’t allowed to sit on strangers’ shoulders. Also, this gooey dragon isn’t really a stranger anymore now so it should be fine! She nods, lifting her arms up to be held. 

He picks up Cub carefully and sits her on his shoulders, thankful that the wrappings around his arms and hands are keeping the goo off of her. 

“Make sure you hold on, okay?” With one hand steading Cub by the knee, he picks up Cybil and begins to stand up slowly, doing his best not to upset Cub’s balance and cause her to fall off. He can feel her patting at his head, fingers dipping under the hood to brush against his hair, wiggling around on his shoulders, and he mostly tunes it out. If anything, it’s at least helping him stay awake and somewhat alert. Against his side, Cybil hums happily as she takes in the sight of the approaching city. 

He looks it over and mentally prepares himself for all of the things that could possibly go wrong as Cub’s little feet lightly move back and forth, gently tapping at his upper chest.

* * *

_ Somewhere within the small town…  _

Axial stretches his arms above his head as he and Ultra begin their trek back to the daycare where they had left Cub at. He reaches down and pulls out his coin bag while Ultra adjusts her satchel’s strap, careful of the new scrolls neatly tucked away inside. He weighs it in his hand with a frown, pockets it and sighs. “I’m happy you found what you were looking for, but those scrolls were too expensive.” He clicks his tongue in distaste. “They fucking overcharged us.” 

Ultra reaches over and offers a comforting pat in this trying time. “Blame the local economy.”

This town was one of many located on the mainland; caught between the base of the Crystalspine Reaches and the borders of the Scarred Wasteland and the Windswept Plateau. It serves as a good crossroads for various breeds and flights to meet and exchange goods. Nestled among a large patch of the starwood strand, the relatively large town is settled over an island connected only by one long bridge. A few miles from it’s entrance, the Starfall Isle’s mainland slowly transforms into scarred terrain. It’s far enough from the heart of the region for Axial and Ultra to go into without getting sick from radiation. It is also, for that reason, why the prices here are always up-charged. 

They reach the daycare. It nearly blends into the rest of the city, what with the same bleached stone being used and curved roof design. It doesn’t help that while the outer walls themselves are painted over with intricate and brightly colored patterns that the patterns almost seem to meld together like a tapestry with the neighboring 3 story building attached to its left. At least they have a courtyard to the right where the fledglings can play or else it would have taken them longer to find it. 

Ultra hangs near the door while Axial goes inside. If the painted designs outside were lovely, the patterned, turquoise and pink tiles inside were breathtaking. He stops by the front counter and brightens up when one of the caretakers appear. 

“Hello, can I help you?” She’s a brightly colored fae still in her true form. He can’t tell if he’s come at a bad time or good time, but he presses on. 

“Yeah, I’m here to pick up my daughter. Her name is Cub, she’s a pearlcatcher, barely a fledgling.” 

The fae pauses and holds up a claw. “One moment.” 

They disappear for a minute and he listens to the muffled yells of fledglings playing. The fae quickly returns. He can’t read their expression, but he’s not sure if how their ear fin is pressed thinly together is a good thing or not. He waits patiently for them to climb back up on their chair and clear their throat. “It seems like...she is not here.” 

There’s a beat. 

“What do you _mean_ she's not here!” 

Outside, Ultra nearly jumps in place at the sound of Axial’s shout. Should she go inside? The shouting continues for a moment more but before she can rush in, Axial storms out. He gives her a panicked look. “What’s going on?” 

“Cub’s not there!” He answers. “No one picked her up, but she’s not there!”

“She must have slipped out somehow.”

Axial hisses and looks close to pulling out the hair he doesn’t have. He rushes forward into the crowd and Ultra bites back a curse chasing after him. “Axial!” She loses him for a moment. She politely slides past a group of ridgebacks and side steps a snapper before catching sight of a familiar teal mirror. He's not too far down, as she spots Axial borderline interrogating one of the city’s local enforcers. Fuck. 

Axial bites back a scream. “Can’t you just send out a siren or-or something immediate? By the time I’m done filing your stupid paperwork, someone could have easily snatched her away.” 

“Look, sir, there is only so much we can do. If you just follow the proper paperwork first, we should be able to put flyers up and conduct a search according to our municipal law-”

“-what kind of enforcer are you?” 

The wildclaw levels him with a dry look. “Look, maybe if you hadn’t left her alone in the first place-”

Ultra makes it in time to wrap her arms around Axial’s waist and hold him back from lunging at the dragon. He sneers at the guard, his hands immediately resting over Ultra’s but not attempting to remove them. “How dare you even-”

She manages to drag him away from the guard before they can think to press charges against Axial and pushes him against a wall. “You need to calm down.” Using her forearm, she keeps Axial in place. “Screaming at the guards like that is only going to get you arrested, not find her.” 

“They’re dumbasses.” Axial bites back. “What kind of enforcer even says that, ‘oh by our city’s municipal blah blah blah- my daughter is missing!” He lets out a hiss of breath and pushes away from the wall with enough force to break away from Ultra’s pin. “I’ll scream myself hoarse till I find her.” To prove a point, Axial raises his hands around his mouth and screams out: “Cub? Cub? Where are you?” 

She can only sigh, pinching at the bridge of her nose, but sticking close. She’s worried too. After a few minutes of following him, she joins Axial as she calls out for her niece. 

They start from the northern part of the city and make their way down to the southern part. Here, there are less mercantile shops and restaurants and more residential buildings and hotels. Further out are a few, small plots of farmland framed by the woods surrounding it. By the gods, what if she somehow wandered into the woods? He’s heard they’re very beautiful and also dangerous and he’s such a horrible father. This is the last time he ever leaves her at a daycare! 

Ultra nudges Axial from his thoughts. “Let’s just ask them.” Pointing ahead, Axial can see a small, one story building. The white walls’ designs have faded and chipped with time and he can see more than a few dragons milling outside, drinking and chatting. From inside, warm, lively music plays as muffled laughter can be heard. He nods. 

As they walk closer, Ultra notices a few things; the streets here are less busy and despite this tavern’s weathered look, most of the other buildings seem sturdier. She can spy, in a few windows and even on a few of the walls, a small, red triangular symbol. As she looks ahead, she realizes that a few of the patrons have stopped to stare at them. As discreetly as she can manage, she whispers to her friend. “Does this feel off to you?” 

Axial looks around, not so much at the same things she did, but for Cub. He shakes his head, tone as casual as a panicked parent can manage. “Not really.” 

They are stopped by a coatl with a strong python gene who is accompanied by their tundra friend. 

“Can we help you?” She signs quickly. 

Axial nods, signing back. “My daughter is missing. The daycare lost her, she’s a little pearlcatcher. Have you seen her?” 

The tundra lets out a short laugh and then clears his throat at the coatl’s look. Ultra squints at the red triangular tattoo inked on his cheek. 

The coatl shakes her head. “Not a lot of runaways around here. Especially pearlcatchers. Is she old enough to have her pearl on her?”

“She’s just barely a fledgling.” He admits. 

The coatl looks to the tundra, lifts her cup and- there it is again, that tattoo. She takes a sip and sets it aside again to sign. “So you must have her pearl then?” 

He squints. “I didn’t say that.” 

“I could read between the lines.”

“Look,” Axial is losing his patience here. “If you haven’t seen her, fine. We’ll just be on our way.”

As soon as he tries to take a step away, the tundra steps closer. He shakes his head. “Not so fast.”

“ _Seriously._ ”

“Nothing personal, but you can’t just walk into our territory and offer something like that and expect to just leave.” The Coatl steps closer and Ultra bares her canines easily until she realizes that a few more dragons have stepped outside, attention focused on them, stepping closer. “Axial,” She hisses. “This isn’t good.” 

“Our boss has a fine eye for pearls.” The Coatl continues. “So if you just make this easy-”

Axial punches her straight in the face, mid sentence, and within the same breath kicks the tundra where the sun don’t shine before twisting around, grabbing Ultra’s hand, and booking it. A commotion immediately breaks out from behind them. She can hear an angry cascade of musical notes fill the air. 

Neither look back to see if they are being followed as they sprint down an alley, take a right on the next street, and run towards the northern part they had just come from. She really hopes for Axial’s sake that they can find Cub soon and ditch this city before the dragons trailing them catch up. 

* * *

They make it across the bridge undetected. 

It’s been a while since he’s been in a town and when they enter into this city, Inkytoes nearly feels overwhelmed with the amount of dragons bustling through. He holds Cybil closer, frozen by the entrance. He’ll need to trust Cub to find the way back. He looks up to the girl. “Do you remember which way you came from?” 

Cub nods expertly and points over to the right. 

“Great, thank you.” 

As Inky continues forward, he tries his best to avoid eye contact with everyone passing by. From his arms, however, Cybil waves at everyone she sees and, anytime someone waves back, lets out a happy laugh. Regardless, he does his best to try and stay as far away from other dragons as he can- which is hard when there are so many dragons milling around. 

He looks around for the two folks he’s gotten so accustomed to seeing, trying to pick them out from the crowds, but so far he doesn’t see any sign of them. ' _As long as they get closer to where Cub escaped from, they’re more likely to find them_ ,' he thinks to himself. _Hopefully_.

Cub lightly tugs on Inkytoes’ hair as they approach an intersection, pointing down another street off to the left. He yawns as he walks, still not seeing the other two mirrors anywhere. He really hopes that nothing bad has happened to them. He also hopes he hasn’t stood out too much. It’s really hard to tell as he glances around, so he can really only hope. Cybil seems to have decided to relax more into his arm, kicking her legs out in idle contentment. She’s still waving at the occasional pedestrian, but it’s luckily slowed down now. 

When they reach the spot, Cub gently pats his head. He stops looking up to see her gesture toward a building off to the left. Well, he may as well see if the dragons inside have seen Cub's caretakers while they wait. He takes in a deep breath and walks in approaching the first dragon he sees who looks like they work there. 

“Excuse me, have you had anyone looking for a lost fledgling?” He tries his best to sound like he’s not super unnerved and uncomfortable about being there. He’s not sure if it’s working. 

The fae regards Cub, then nods. “He was here maybe half an hour ago.” They gesture outside, expression unreadable. “Yelled up a storm and left. I told him to go to the guards-”

As they talk, Cub moves a little so her foot is closer to Cybil’s face to try and get her attention. As soon as she sees the foot, Cybil reaches up and attempts to grab at it. Cub immediately moves her foot away to avoid Cybil’s grasp, giggling madly. Her fingers dig into Inkytoes’ cheek. She adjusts again and grabs at his mouth, her fingers clenching into the side of it and lightly pulling. Inkytoes does his best to pay attention to the fae, but it’s hard when his face is being used as leverage. He doesn’t really do anything about it until he feels Cub pull at the side of his mouth. He can’t risk drooling black ick in front of this fae he’s trying to talk to, so he reaches up with his free hand and carefully moves her hand away from his mouth with a quiet admonishment. Cub stares at his hand for a moment before her eyes light up. Obviously this is a game! With a renewed energy, Cub leans against his head and attempts to shove her hand back into his mouth. At first, he gently swats her hand away, but when that proves to be too much of a struggle, he ends up just pressing his free hand to his mouth instead. 

He looks back to the fae who has stopped talking. It’s either a bead of sweat or shade slipping down the nape of his neck, but he quickly mutters a muffled “thanks” and leaves the daycare. He’s not really sure where they should look next and it doesn’t help that the fae wasn’t even completely sure where those two mirrors disappeared off to either. He stands there, outside, hand firmly over his mouth with Cub desperately trying to pry it off, lost. 

He should try asking her if she knew where her caretakers went within the city. At least they’d have some direction instead of him just standing here looking suspicious. And he would, if it wasn't for this one-sided game that Cub seems to be playing with him. He imagines that if he just moves his hard _just_ far enough to speak without being muffled (and still keep little fledgling fingers out), it should work. 

He just hadn't accounted for that fact that Cub is very strong for a four year old fledgling. 

As soon as she had the slightest hint that he was moving his hand away, Cub yanks with all the force that the Plaguebringer must have gifted her and shoves nearly her entire hand not just through the sliver of space between his palm and mouth, but into his mouth. He can feel her wiggle her fingers. 

Cub’s face screws up with disgust and fascination. “Ew.” 

He startles and quickly crouches to set Cybil down on the ground before reaching up and attempting to lift Cub off of his shoulders while doing his best to remove her hand from his mouth without accidentally nicking her skin. He sets her on the ground and fumbles for that fabric scrap that he had in his pocket from tearing up his hood earlier. Keeping a hand on Cub, he does his best to wipe any black fluid off of her hand, trying not to think about the fact that he can feel some of the inky shade dripping out of his mouth right now. 

Cybil just watches this with interest and mild amusement. 

Then, things get hectic from there. 

One second, Inkytoes is cleaning Cub’s hand and then the next thing he knows, he’s face down on the floor with the wind knocked out of him. Someone above him lets out a pained groan and manages to roll off him. He can hear Cub gasp, but before he can really take a look, someone yanks them both up. 

“Grab the kids and run- we’ll deal with this later.” Ultra pushes Axial and Inkytoes forward. She looks back when she hears the cacophony of shouts and catches sight of three dragons pushing their way through the crowd towards them. Inkytoes lets out a wheeze. If the tiny bit of black ooze coming from his mouth wasn’t noticeable before, it certainly is now as more drips out from his mouth and nose. So much for staying inconspicuous. 

He stumbles forward and quickly grabs Cybil. He’d really like to know what in the world these two were off doing while their fledgling was wandering alone near the desert. Now isn’t the time though. As Axial yanks Cub up and into his arms, Ultra sprints ahead of them, leading the makeshift group down an alley off to the left and further into the heart of the town. 

Inkytoes tries his best to keep up with Axial and Ultra. He’s not sure who or what they are running from, but he’s starting to lag behind a little. His lungs and throat are burning with every breath as he barely manages to keep the other two in his sight. He can’t help but notice that they’re heading away from the exit, but...but maybe they know what they’re doing. Even if he did want to warn them, he’s not sure he’d have the breath to do it. More shade begins to bubble like bile from his mouth and it’s an effort swallowing it down without choking. From behind he can hear more shouting. He almost runs into Axial again when he realizes that the other two have suddenly stopped at an intersection. Ultra looks around, then points eastward and begins running again, grabbing at Axial and-and his wrist as well. She leads them down a few alleys, through a market of stands and tents, and then around a courtyard with a fountain. She slips through an open window, gesturing for them to do the same, and then out the other side. By the time the shouting has faded to din, and then that to nothing, Inkytoes isn’t quite sure where they are. 

Ultra peaks out from the tapestry stand they’re hiding behind and gestures for them to follow her. They reach the edge of the town where the starwood forest begins and ducks inside. By the time she stops, the city is still visible, though cut by the trunks of the forest. She lets go of their wrists and immediately wipes her hand on the nearest trunk she can find. Inkytoes leans against a different tree, struggling to catch his breath, and setting Cybil down in hopes that she stays near him. 

Axial shifts Cub in his arm so he can properly give her a kiss and a stern look. “You had us worried! Don’t sneak out like that ever again, okay?” When she presses her hands on his cheeks, his stern expression breaks down into pure relief as he sinks down and holds her. “Thank the gods you’re safe.” 

Ultra glances towards Inkytoes. It’s evident that she doesn’t trust him, but there’s confusion in her eyes too. Her gaze centers on the black shade staining his lower chin and she visibly tenses up. It feels like there's a thin, taunt line being held over their heads just threatening to break, but when she looks away, it loosens. She unclenches her fists and swallows past something in her throat as she directs her attention to Axial. 

“We aren’t safe yet. We don’t know if they’ve lied to the guards or, worse, work with them. We’ll need to get across that bridge somehow though.” 

Axial looks up from where he’s sitting, his grip on his daughter loosening just an inch. “Are you sure? The guards seemed awfully keen to follow the rules.” 

“First off, you were yelling at the guard-”

“-cause they were an idiot.”

“-Secondly, you attacked two people who I’m pretty sure were part of a _gang_. Gang clans usually have power in small towns like this.” 

Axial sticks his chin out in defiance. “She had it coming.” 

There’s a long sigh as Ultra pinches the bridge of her nose again. 

Axial looks back to Inkytoes, wincing a bit at the shade, but managing to maintain eye contact. “Uh, so, thanks for finding her. Where was she?” 

Inkytoes looks up from where he’s leaning on the tree. “She was out on the border of the Boneyard.” He feels his nerves starting to rise again. He really wants to know how all this even happened, but, if he pries, that might make them angry and he nearly flinches at the idea of being attacked again. He reaches down for Cybil, lifting her up and onto his shoulders and waits for her to grab his antlers before digging around for the last clean fabric scrap in his pocket. 

Axial tightens his hold on Cub again, giving her a stern (and impressed) look. “She was?” He says the question like a statement and it’s enough to make Cub look sheepish. 

Inkytoes nods as he wipes as much of the liquid from his face. It’s not a spotless job, but it’s probably better than it looked before. He enjoyed how his face felt before coming into the city; nice and not gooey. Shame it couldn't last longer. Axial turns his attention back to Inkytoes, expression soft. “Thank you for watching over her, and for bringing her back, if anything had happened-”

Ultra physically cuts through the conversation as she steps between their line of sight. “Wonderful, lovely. We should go now before those dragons think to look here. We're probably still visible.” She nervously glances back towards the city, then back to Axial and, briefly, to Inkytoes. “Just follow my lead and don’t do anything stupid.” At the last part, she looks pointedly at Axial. He sticks his tongue back at her in response. 

She rolls her eyes and moves through the forest towards the east where the bridge leading off this island should be. 

Inkytoes sticks the fabric scrap back into his pocket. He could wash it later, it would be a shame to waste it. He’s just relieved that 1) Cub’s back with her caretakers and 2) they aren’t currently murdering him. Progress. 

He reaches up a hand to hold onto Cybil’s leg as he starts to trail behind Ultra and Axial. He’s glad they were able to catch their breath a little so he’s not struggling quite as much as he was before. He can feel Cybil twisting this way and that, taking in all the sights with wide eyes and obvious enjoyment- and that brings some comfort to him as well. Axial lifts Cub and adjusts her on his shoulders and almost immediately, Cub waves back towards him and Cybil. He can see her make a silly face and feel rather than hear Cybil giggle back in delight. As Ultra continues to lead them further east, they can start to see the bridge through the wood’s branches. Inkytoes does his best to keep up with the other two’s pace as they get closer. He can’t really see any guards on the bridge, but as he tries to get a better look, they pass by one particularly lovely bush covered in blooming, pollen-coated flowers. 

A dry, tickling sensation arises in his nose and throat as his eyes start to water. He’s suddenly plunged into darkness as his eyes and sinuses burn with the black fluid that now quickly seeps out. He skids to a stop and bites back a pained whine as the burning only causes his eyes to water more. He tries to wipe his eyes clean with the back of his hands, but only really smudges the liquid around. As soon as Ultra hears the pained noise, she turns around. She sucks in a deep breath. “Holy shit.” And steps back. There’s a sharp inhale, then exhale, as she visibly forces herself not to scream. “What the fuck.” She hisses under her breath. 

Axial meets her panicked look with confusion, before turning around and- “Oh fucking Pillar of Dragons!” He leaps away and nearly throws Cub off his shoulders with the sudden movement. He stares at Inkytoes with open eyes and a slack jaw and it takes him a moment to gather himself to speak. “Are you dying?!” He looks towards Ultra, unsure of what to do. “Should we help him? How do we help him?” 

Inkytoes is trying to stay calm. As soon as he hears Axial flip out, he stops trying to wipe away the goo. By this point, it will only make it worse since the fabric wrapped around his arms is probably drenched with shade residue. 

“I’ll be okay,” His pained voice says otherwise. “I just...got something in my eyes. Everything’s fine.” He blindly reaches down and pulls at the bottom of his shirt, wiping his face with that instead. It works a little bit better than his hands had, but he still can’t see much. He can make out some blurry shapes and colors, but the longer he tries to keep his eyes open, the more they sting, so he closes them. He can feel Cybil moving around, likely trying to have a peek at his face. It’s a good thing she’s seen this before. He’s not sure he could handle her panicking too. 

Axial doesn’t sound very convinced by his comment. “Are you...sure?” Inkytoes nods. Axial gestures to the black smear that is currently his face. “No offense, but you look like an eldritch horror emerging from some fleshy vessel.”

Inky chooses to ignore this. 

Ultra elbows Axial hard in the side and the air leaves him.”What? It’s true.” He gasps out.

She ignores Axial. “Can you see? Do you know how long it will take for you to see again?” 

He tries to open his eyes to see for himself, blinking a few times. “I can see a little bit...sort of. I don’t know how long it will take.” The burning sensation lessens when he blinks, but it’s still there. He almost asks if he could maybe hold onto someone’s clothes or hand when they start moving again, but they’re probably more frightened of him while he’s in this state. Axial sure sounds like he is, at least. He can feel Cybil shifting around again. 

Ultra frowns and shakes her head. “That won’t do.” She gestures for him to sit down, doing the same herself. “We’ll just have to wait until you can. Besides, it may throw those dragons off.” There is a shuffle and then the sound of paper being spread out. 

Inkytoes is honestly surprised that she suggested they wait, instead of just leaving him. Wouldn’t that have been easier? Regardless. He can’t really see her gesture that well, but he does see the vague shape of Ultra move downward into what looks like a sitting position, so he does the same. He takes Cybil off his shoulders and sets her on his lap. He’d normally be wary of letting her run around while he’s like this, but...but he feels like he can trust her to stay near Cub and within the line of vision of the other two adult dragons. 

So, when Cybil wiggles out of his grasp, he lets her. 

Axial nervously glances between the two before following in Ultra’s example. He sets Cub down as he sits. “Stay by me.” His voice is soft as he takes off his own satchel to dig around in. 

Cub doesn’t as she gestures towards Cybil and tries to move towards her- only to be stopped when her dad grabs hold of her arm. She immediately whines. “I want to play with Cyb.” 

There’s a hesitation and then a sigh. “Just be careful, okay, and stay where I can see you.” Cub nods and he lets go, watching as she bridges the gap to play with her friend. 

The longer Inkytoes sits there, the more he just wants to close his eyes to wait out this temporary blindness. He can hear the girls playing, but doesn’t pay too much attention. With how he’s leaning against the tree, in the position that he’s in, with his eyes closed, he is reminded of how exhausted he is. He tries to resist sleeping, knowing it’d only delay their getaway more, but he really can’t resist. His head starts to nod as he sits there and drifts off. 

Ultra isn’t sure how it came to this. 

She should just leave this dragon and take Cybil to the guards, let them put her up for adoption, and leave. She should tell them about the shade-infected imperial as they leave and be done with all of this once and for all. But the very thought of any of this occurring makes her gut twist uncomfortably. She feels...guilty and she _hates_ it. Something-someone- nudges her arm and she looks over to see Axial with a knowing smile on his face. 

“What?” 

His smile widens. “I know what that expression means.” 

Her frown deepens in response. “I’m really not in the mood Axial.” 

She leans further away bringing one of her new scrolls closer to her face. She isn’t hiding, no. No, she’s just very interested in this historical document about the Deities thank you very much. 

Axial doesn’t get the hint and continues on anyways. “I remember seeing that look after the first week I adopted Cub.” His voice took a softer tone. “You don’t have to hide it from me. I know you.” 

She sets down the scroll to shove him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She picks the scroll up again and blocks Axial from her view. “I think you shouldn’t speak about things you don’t understand.” 

She hears a soft exhale as Axial moves away. “Come on, we both know that’s a lie.” However, he doesn’t press further and she’s almost relieved. She tries to focus on the text of the scroll. It’s talking about the Shadowbinder and- she lets out another breath, struggling to focus on the sentence she’s reading. She gives up after a few minutes, carefully rolling it back up and putting it away with the rest of the scrolls in her satchel. She leans back and settles on watching the two children play. 

Cub lets out a laugh as she lunges forward to try and tag her friend, but Cybil is very fast and _very_ agile. It doesn’t seem like either are prepared to lose and it takes Cub tackling the other to finally get them to stop moving. Cub sits triumphant on her friend and lets out a laugh. “You’re it!” 

She wonders...Ultra pushes the thought back and lets it die. It’s been a decade since then and there was no use wondering. Instead, she focuses her attention on Inkytoes instead. Watching him rest, it’s almost disarming how fragile he looks with his tail wrapped around himself like that. He looks like another dragon- a starving, scared, suffering dragon. It makes her heart clench in a weird way. She reminds herself about the things she saw in the forest, and while it makes her heart race in fear, it doesn’t stop the mental conflict over how she feels regarding the imperial. She can't think about this right now and focuses her attention back to the kids.

Axial watches as the other dragon sleeps. He’s definitely asleep, no doubt about it. Inkytoes has more than slowly slid down the trunk and is just laying on the ground, curled up with his tail wrapped around himself. He looks comfortable, which is impressive since the ground isn’t that soft to begin with. He raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t really say anything. Axial chances a glance over at Ultra to see if she’s taken note, but her attention is centered on the kids. Oh well, he may as well do the same. He smiles. Cub really has grown since he first adopted her. She’s still got her little hatchling fat and the fledgling tufts are prominent, but she's taller and more coordinated as she chases around Cybil. There will be a day when her adult features will grow in and her horn will become more prominent and he will get the chance to see the adult she’ll one day be. It warms his heart. 

And it makes him a little sad too. 

He knows Ultra doesn’t like talking about it- she probably hates thinking about it- but he can’t help but wonder if they had _kept_ them...would things be different? Maybe instead of doing what they did...no, there isn't a point to thinking about this, especially now. He can't change the past. So, Axial focuses back on the girls playing and winces when Cybil hits the ground a tad hard after his daughter had tripped her up with her leg. He should probably say something before Cybil walks away with more than just bruises. "Hey Cub, be gentle with your friend." 

Cub screams happily back as she sprints around with Cybil nearly on her tail. 

It’s a good thing she’s found a friend at least. 

As Cybil chases Cub around, she glances over and notices Axial watching them. Maybe he wants to play too? She glances at Inkytoes and then runs towards Axial with the intent to tackle him despite their size differences. Axial sees her coming a mile away, but he still acts surprised as she runs into his arms and he rocks them backwards as if she had completely knocked him over. “Oh no!” He exclaims. “I’ve been caught!” 

Cub, not one to miss out, rushes over to launch herself at them both with a gleeful yell and lands on her father. An ‘omph’ of air escapes him. He sucks in a breath before playfully roaring and sitting up with the girls trapped in his arms. “Now _I_ got _you_!” He proclaims. 

“You can never escape me for I’m the…” He pauses for the drama of it, relishing in the children’s giggles, before continuing with flare. “Tickle Monster!” Digging his fingers into their sides, he lets out a laugh when both girls erupt into shrieks of laughter. Cybil kicks her legs out, almost crying as she laughs. 

The noise is enough to make Inkytoes’ ears flick upward and he startles awake, sitting up and looking around worriedly. His vision appears to have returned, for the most part, as he focuses his attention on Axial and the girls. Upon seeing that the screams were one of joy, he relaxes. He watches as Cybil manages to free herself long enough to cling to Axial’s leg like a child-boot.

Ultra relaxes when Inkytoes relaxes.

She glances towards Axial, who seems well preoccupied with entertaining the fledglings, then back towards Inkytoes only to find him staring at her. He blinks, then glances to Axial and the kids, watching them instead for a moment. She can’t tell, but he almost looks guilty as he watches Axial play with Cybil and Cub. She'd ventured to say that he looks almost conflicted and with the way he keeps opening and closing his mouth, like he's trying to say something. Ultra breathes in, then out again. She watches Inkytoes for a long moment and, maybe it is the peaceful calm that has washed over the little group, but the usual anxiety and fear towards him feels weaker, somehow. When she really thinks about it, if they just took away all that...goo, he was just another unfortunate vagabond. _A very tired and thin one at that_ , she adds mentally.

It’s weird because whenever they heard stories about the shade from Mulberry, it was about how they wore creatures' bodies like a second skin. They were dangerous and controlled their hosts like puppets (and a cold shiver crawls down her spine at the sudden memory). But, they never seemed fragile nor petrified all the time and they _definitely_ didn't keep fledglings alive for this long or-or return lost ones back to their clan safely intact. It was easier when she just knew him as..as he _had been_ _before,_ the first time she saw him. Now, she's not really sure how she feels about this. Angry? Maybe. Scared, absolutely. 

Pitying? 

Ultra draws her legs closer. Her mouth presses into a thin line. She can't lie to herself; there is a part of her that _wants_ to help him and that _terrifies_ her. The thin line morphs into a sardonic smile. Axial really is starting to rub off on her. 

She breathes in for three seconds, out for five, and then waves at Inkytoes. 

As soon as she catches his attention, she loudly asks. “Is Inkytoes your actual name?”

Between them, Axial crosses with Cybil on his leg and Cub dangling from his arm. He stumbles past and Inkytoes shakes his head, a contemplative look washing over his face. “No.” He looks pleasantly surprised that she’s talking to him at all-and Ultra’s not surprised at that given their past interactions. “I can see more now, by the way.” He adds. 

He goes silent once more, his face falling back into that contemplative look. He looks lost in thought. 

Ultra...fine, she’ll level here. She doesn’t really consider herself much of an empathetic, or even sympathetic, dragon. She’s as friendly as she needs to be to get by and the less contact she has with other dragons, the better. She’s been comfortable with the few dragons that have been in her life and she’s grown comfortable with having Cub travel and live with her and Axial. She thought that, with the three of them, they were family enough out on these open lands.

She knows that she can have strong opinions to match her sharp tongue, but for the most part, she feels _content_. 

So, it’s startling to feel this strong sense of sorrow curl within her chest at his lost expression. It wasn’t like he had gone into a spiel regarding his tragic backstory. He isn’t crying or revealing a wallet filled with pictures of his family that he lost years ago. He just _looks_ lost. The fact that he doesn’t even know his actual name- she forces herself to nod and suppress the feeling as best as she can. 

She swallows hard and stands up. “We should go then.” 

She looks over to Axial; he’s crouched over, Cub more than halfway climbing up and onto his back with Cybil still clinging tightly to his leg like a koala. It’s a sight to see. “Axial.” 

“Yes?” He attempts to turn around with a grin, careful not to jostle Cub off his back as he lifts the leg Cybil is clinging to and widely arches it to the front. 

Ultra almost feels bad for ending the fun early, but. “It’s time to go.” She gestures towards Inkytoes. “He says he can see again, so we should head out before they figure out where we’re hiding.” Axial’s happy expression falters, but he doesn’t hesitate as he reaches around and pulls Cub off his back and into his arms. She laughs. He looks over to Inkytoes. “You sure?” 

The dragon in question blinks from his thoughts and then nods after a second. He stands up and stretches, hearing his joints crack in response. “I’m fine now.” His attention drifts back to the kids and he can’t help but crack a smile. He’s happy to see Cybil enjoying herself so much. Said child meets Inkytoes’ gaze and her face grows pensive. Should she stay wrapped around Axial’s leg or go back to Inkytoes to ride his shoulders again? The most crucial factor in this decision is which would be more fun? Since Inkytoes doesn’t seem to want to leave this small group, Cybil decides she doesn’t really need to stick super close to him and tightens her grip on Axial’s leg. 

Ultra takes the lead again as Axial and Inkytoes follow behind. They continue for a few more minutes before they can see more of the bridge. Edging closer to the end of the forest, they peer out and Ultra sucks in a breath. Despite what they had hoped, it looks like there are more guards than earlier. They watch as a few guards even stop some of the dragons leaving the town and Ultra hisses out a breath. They could try and run again, however with how the guards are centered at the start of the bridge and the end, it’s not likely all of them will make it out. She couldn’t risk that. She tried to think of something else. Swimming doesn’t seem like a good option with the girls; not only is the water around the town deep, but the shoreline itself is closer to a cliffside than an actual shoreline. They could fly, but it’d have to be her and Axial doing it given that an imperial in their true form is rather large and noticeable. Still, even with all these conflicting feelings regarding Inkytoes, she isn't prepared yet to have him ride on her back nor Axial's so soon. 

Perhaps...okay, this seems stupid but, perhaps if they just exchange their clothes and lie, they might be able to sneak past. By Shadowbinder's murk, they might not even be looking for them and even if they are, it’d be with second hand information on _how_ they’d look. She doubts they ever got a good look at Inkytoes, so it could work. She gestures for the others to move away from the edge and back into the forest. 

“I think if we just switch our clothes, we can clear the bridge.” She explains as she begins to undo her hijab and starlight cloak. "I think this is the only way that can work without drawing too much attention to ourselves.” 

With a slight hesitation, Axial begins to unwrap his blue and white striped scarf. “I don’t think it really will, but I trust your judgement.” He looks over at Inkytoes. Maybe he’ll agree with Axial or maybe they’ll just share a confused look instead. He looks as confident about this plan as Axial feels. 

Ultra hands her starlight cloak over to Axial. She hesitates before addressing Inkytoes. “Give me some of your clothing. Axial will give you some of his and he will wear my clothes.” She tries not to shudder as she looks over the stains on his clothing. “The girls should be fine.”

Inkytoes, still doubtful, shrugs and takes off his shirt, cringing at the thought of getting black stains all over the others’ clothes. If he still had his hood perfectly intact that’d be great, but alas, most of it is still currently in several pieces wrapped around his arms, legs and tail. 

As Cub is set down, she gives her father and the rest of the dragons a confused look. Does she need to undress too? She sits down and attempts to kick off one of her boots, but Axial is faster with a small laugh and a quick, “No, no, keep your clothes on.” Luckily, Cybil remains attached to his leg. It’s clear that she’s decided that she will not be moving and will also not be giving anyone her clothes. They’re hers, after all, and that would be ridiculous. 

After a quick change later, the three adults have properly switched clothes. Ultra looks extremely uncomfortable in Inkytoes’ brown, dark stained attire. She seems to almost regret this the most despite being the one to propose it. She can’t help but feel too exposed with her hijab gone and everytime she thinks about how the shade goo most have touched the fabric that is now touching her bare skin- she shivers and pushes the thought back again. She works on braiding her hair and tying it back. Axial adjusts the Starlight cloak so it looks less like a skirt and more like a dress. He takes the material she uses for her hijab and wraps it around his neck like a scarf. Having had to have removed the girls to change, Axial gives them a little twirl and daintly bows to their amusement. 

“I feel so pretty.” He says, giving Ultra a mischievous smirk. “Maybe even prettier than you.” 

Ultra doesn’t even give him a response as she turns her attention to Inkytoes, who had been given Axial’s sweater and scarf. She can’t help but snort at the sight. The ugly sweater that Axial insists on wearing is clearly way too short for the imperial’s lanky frame. He’s too skinny for it to be tight across his chest, but it shows off a bit of skin around the navel and arms. On top of that, he’s wearing Axial’s bright blue scarf, which only contrasts that much more painfully against Axial’s neon green and purple sweater. Inkytoes tugs at the bottom of the sweater, trying to pull it a little further down, and failing. The sleeves even feel too short for him and he looks like he feels; awkward. 

Ultra lets out a snort and covers her mouth as laughter spills out. Inkytoes looks over at Ultra, then at Axial’s pretty new outfit. He tries to hold back his own laughter, trying to imagine how he must look. Now that he himself is wearing it, it’s hard to ignore that the other dragon’s fashion sense certainly seems...unique. He covers his mouth with his hand and looks away. He shouldn’t laugh, he might offend Axial. 

The awkward laughs and chuckles eventually quiet down as they prepare for their next step. 

Axial picks up and carries Cub on his shoulders as Ultra resumes the front of the pack. She makes sure to stay close enough that she can grab his hand if they need to run for it and, in turn, Axial is close enough to do the same for Inkytoes. Inkytoes follows the other two closely, holding Cybil once more. He moves when Ultra begins walking them out from the forest, past a stand, through a crowd, and then out to where the bridge stretches in front of them. They make it past the first two guards, around a quarter of the way across, when one of the guards off to the right steps up to Ultra and stops them. 

The guard looks them all over with his one squinted eye and just when Axial’s sure the plan has failed, breaks out into a jovial grin. “Thank you for stopping by our lovely city. We hope to see you again.” He cheerfully extends an arm out towards the end of the bridge and Ultra lets out a quiet, held breath. “Thank you.” She responds, walking forward. 

“Hold on.” The three stop as the guard moves closer to Inkytoes. His breath catches in his throat as he tries not to have a heart attack right then and there. The guard doesn’t seem to notice as he squints at him. “Seems like you have something on your scarf, sir.” 

“Oh, must be oil, haha.” He tries to sound convincing, but there’s definitely a nervous undertone to his words. Has he just blown their cover? Or worse, did he already manage to stain Axial’s scarf in that short amount of time? Why can’t his nose and mouth stop oozing for like...five minutes, at least?

The guard continues to stare at the little black stain, then grunts, and leans away. He meets Inkytoes eyes. “Vinegar.” He says matter-o-factly. “That’s the best way to get any kind of oil out. It’s a home recipe, I really recommend it.” He gives Inkytoes a smile. “If that doesn’t work, well, hopefully that scarf wasn’t new.” He gestures for Inkytoes to continue on his way. “Have a nice day.” 

Inkytoes smiles a closed-mouth smile at the guard, wondering if vinegar would actually work on a shade stain. He’ll try to remember that. “Thank you.” 

He nods and walks forward, nervously holding Cybil close to himself. 

Axial and Ultra both let out a sigh of relief when Inkytoes joins them on the other side and, together, they continue towards the border of the plague lands. Once far enough from the eyes of the guards, they pause to switch back their clothes. After Axial and Ultra have exchanged clothes, Axial shakes his head.

“I can’t believe that actually worked.” He says in disbelief. 

Inkytoes unravels the scarf from his neck to inspect the damage. It doesn’t seem too bad, but he still offers it back with an apologetic and guilty look on his face. The sooner it’s out of his hands, the less likely he’ll ruin it more. Axial looks over the scarf and takes it, giving the stain a wary glance. Other than that, he doesn’t look mad. “It’s not going to, uh, contaminate me, right?” He awkwardly asks. It’s not like he wants to offend Inkytoes here, but, look, he doesn’t want to accidentally become a host either. 

Inkytoes shakes his head, not offended at all. “It won’t. Sorry, though.” He sets down Cybil to go and remove the sweater as well. He’s quick to hand it back. 

Axial takes the sweater and looks it over before slipping it on. He pointedly ignores the scars on Inkytoes’ bare chest and takes extra care to wrap the scarf around his neck. He looks over to see Ultra hastily hand back Inkytoes’ stained shirt.

Her hijab is once more in place as she adjusts her skirt. She gives the wastelands a nervous look, her attention briefly catching on the girls chasing a lizard running nearby, before going back out to the horrid landscape ahead of them. She is not a stranger to this land, but this region’s deity is not one that she worships and she’s heard enough stories to know that lingering alone in one place for too long invites trouble. Still- _okay_ , she should be able to just leave him and Cybil behind. They've done it twice before, shouldn't be any different then. She just has to think about the shade and focus on that part and not about the kid or this skinny, scared, lost imperial. He's _infected_. She has berated Axial for less. 

And yet. 

Ultra looks over at Inkytoes, watching him watch the girls chase the lizard for a second. His expression is soft despite the hallowed cheeks and perpetually sad look etched into the downward curve of his eyes and ears. He looks tired 

She can't believe she's going to do this. She clears her throat to get his attention and then braces herself. 

“Would you like to travel with us?” 

Inkytoes isn’t sure how to react. He’s...surprised that she’d offer that after barely getting to know him. After...their previous run-ins...they’ve scarcely interacted until today’s..adventure. His mind is yelling **No**. He should _not_ join them. Not after everything that he’s already gone through….but, he’s been alone for so long because he wanted to avoid potentially hurting anyone. He’s better off **alone**. He _was_ , anyways, until Cybil came along. He glances over at Cybil again, watching as she runs around the adults with Cub, another fledgling her own age, as they chase the lizard around, and then back to Ultra. If he sticks around these dragons, it means food and-and defense. It’s better for Cybil this way. Even as his brain is **screaming** at him that this is a **terrible** idea, even as his nerves twist horribly, if Cybil is safer, then… 

He swallows, struggling to find an answer to give to Ultra. “I...really? I wouldn’t want to impose. I’m sure Cybil would like that a lot, though.” 

Before she could lose her nerve, or whatever this is pushing her, Ultra nods her head, ignoring Axial’s disbelieving stare. “Yes. It would be- you wouldn’t be imposing.” 

Axial looks between Ultra and Inkytoes, more than a little lost. 

Ultra clears her throat. “I feel that, with our luck, we will just run into each other again.” She turns away, inspecting her claws. “If we band together, I think we’ll be able to avoid further shenanigans.” 

Inktyoes, while still conflicted, can’t help but feel kind of...anxiously eager about this change. He wouldn’t have to watch out for a small fledgling on his own when he could barely watch out for himself. He wouldn’t have to spend all night getting food for both of them in hopes that his internal shady companion would be satisfied. He wouldn’t feel quite as lonely. Maybe he’s also trying to convince himself past some of the stronger **negative** feelings, but it works well enough.

“I really can’t argue with that. I think it sounds like a great idea.” 

Axial gives Ultra a confused look, but slowly nods. “Sure..maybe we can find a cure for that…” _shade_ , he doesn’t say. “Goo.” 

Inkytoes smile falters for a fraction of a second. He looks reluctant. “Maybe, yeah.” He’s never thought about getting help- and maybe the shade has had something to do with that. Still, it seems hard to imagine a life without sharing a body with the shade. As much as he despises it, it’s protected him, kept him fed, and kept him **alive**. He tries not to dwell on these thoughts. 

Axial shoots Ultra another quizzical look, a look that says ‘we’re going to talk about this privately later’ and leaves it at that. He feels a tug on his pants and looks down to find Cub staring up at him. 

“We caught the lizard!” She points over to Cybil who is proudly holding the lizard they were chasing earlier. She’s smiling widely at him with pride. 

Axial relaxes a little. At least he can keep a closer eye on Cybil as well. He’ll be able to make sure she’s protected and, you know, the girls can keep each other company. He lets Cub drag him over. 

Inkytoes watches them go; looking over Cub and Cybil, Axial as well, as they show off their catch. He can’t help but feel proud, though he’s not sure why. It’s a lizard. Still, maybe it’s just the thought that...well, this is his clan now. He tries to think back to when he was in another clan- He thinks, but nothing specific pops into mind. It’s strange to be a part of something now. 

Ultra pulls out her map from her satchel, looking it over. “We should get going soon.” 

“Very impressive.” She hears Axial say to the girls as she looks over the map. She looks up to see Cybil holding it up in the air in a victory stance, watching Axial as he examines it closely. 

She smiles. Then, she gathers herself and purposefully walks over towards Inkytoes, stepping close (but not too close, not close enough for the shade to touch-) and shows him the map and the journey ahead of them.

“We usually go outside of the Wasteland’s borders, since the Wasteland itself can be pretty dangerous.” Her finger moves along the path before stopping where they’re roughly located. “We need to restock on our inventory and while the Tangled Forest offers plenty of potential items to sell, we need to go further out to find the more valuable items.” Their original plan was to go and purchase more supplies when they went in town, but that didn’t happen. Hunting and scavenging shouldn’t be a problem, but they’ll definitely need to shorten their trip to avoid any potential problems. 

Ultra moves her finger down towards the Windswept. “We’re going here next. I think we should be able to have enough food to carry us through the Ashfall Waste.” She says. “We’ll descend down the Reedcleft Ascent and then stick near the border of the Sea of a Thousand Currents in the Zephyr Steppes. After that, we’ll cross the border into the Ashfall Wastes and stick North.” Her finger moves along. “After we manage to scavenger some goods, we’ll cross the border into the Shifting Expanse where we will walk through the Highland Scrub. After that we’ll cross into the Sunbeam Ruins and home will be a boat ride away.” 

She holds the map, but her attention is back on Inkytoes. “It’s not going to be a short trip and we’ll have to find our food since we weren’t able to buy more here. Do you think you can do this?” 

Inkytoes looks over the map once more. “I could help scavenge, if you like.” He’s used to that after all, though he’s not sure if Ultra would want him to touch anything they may want to cook. Still, it’s nice to offer. “I do still have some food of my own left over, and I’m pretty good at finding things to eat.” He looks at her and tries to say this with a smile. 

A cold chill goes down her spine and she does her best not to show how uncomfortable and anxious she suddenly feels near him. She quickly closes the map and subtly tries to put distance between them. His smile still falters as he avoids her gaze. She nods. “Yeah, that-that could be useful. Though, don’t worry about sharing, we’re pretty good hunters.” 

Besides, she’s not quite sure she could even eat the food he handles. She looks back at his stained hands and then away, trying not to feel too queasy at the sudden intrusive thought of her eating meat covered completely in that tar. 

Inkytoes could kick himself for his choice of words. “Ah, well, that’s good…”

There’s a quiet beat. 

In the background Cybil offers Axial her lizard, who happily accepts the creature and then proceeds to pretend to eat it whole, relishing in the equally shocked looks from the girls. 

Inkytoes thinks for a moment and then lowers his voice to a quieter tone, a fearful curiosity overwhelming him. He stutters and stumbles with nervousness as he speaks, “Whatever you saw me doing that time, it won’t happen again. I didn’t...I..Did I attack you?” He gives her a worried look. Ever since he’d heard her say that she saw him- _it_ eating, he couldn’t help but think about whether or not it saw her and chased her. It leaves him wondering how many others it’s come across while he’s been out. 

In the background, Cybil whines out a dejected “NoooooOOooooOooo” at the sight of Axial eating her lizard. That was her lizard!!! It was her friend and she had caught it first. To defend her friend’s honor, Cub valiantly kicks her father’s shin and Axial let’s out a pained noise. He quickly reveals with a muttered ‘ta-da’ that the lizard is still alive this entire time. He hands it back to a shocked Cybil who pets it softly.

Ultra tries not to show how anxious she feels; she breathes in and out, pushing back the panic as she thinks back to their first encounter. 

“You didn’t.” She says, as softly as she can, back. “I don’t think you even noticed me. I backed out quietly before you could.” She’s proud, her voice didn’t waiver once. 

Inkytoes breathes out a sigh of relief at her words. “I’m so glad to hear that.” He glances back towards the girls, watching them if only to distract himself from the recurring and persistent thought that he may have killed and eaten other dragons before. He doesn’t know that. He breathes out. 

Cybil sets the lizard on the ground and Axial watches as it scampers off to freedom. “That was very sweet of you-” A shrill screech cuts Axial off as a bird suddenly swoops out from nowhere and snatches the lizard up, disappearing into the sky. “Oh, uh…” 

Cub’s mouth is ajar and Cybil immediately starts crying. “My lizard! _No_!” She wipes at her eyes and let’s Axial guide her and Cub back to the others. No matter what comforting words Axial could be saying to her, she will not be comforted. Like the small fledgling she is, she attempts to flop herself onto the ground in a sort of sad tantrum. 

Inkytoes flinches and then steps closer and gingerly picks her up. He’s seen her do this before, he knows she’ll be fine in a few minutes, and he glances towards Cub to see if she’s reacted the same way. However, any tears she may have shed are quickly gone as soon as Axial lifts her up. 

Axial smiles at his daughter. “Little Caiman tears,” His voice is pitched up high as he makes a funny, exaggerated face. “Don’t let them escape or else little Butter Caiman’s will appear.” He presses a kiss to her forehead. Cub tries, and fails, not to smile and soon she’s forgotten what she was upset about as she tries to sing along with her father. 

Ultra takes this time to step closer to Axial, placing a hand on his shoulder and looking back to Inkytoes. “We really should get going now.” 

Inkytoes nods in agreement. He’d love for them to get to wherever they were going so he could finally sleep. He’s not sure what will await them, but he hopes...well he just hopes things go better than it has been so far.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God it's been a while since I've been able to edit a chapter. This one has been particularly long; took about, more than four hours just to edit it. I'll probably go over it at a later date, but for now I hope you've enjoyed!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Scavengers have a feelings jam while crossing the Windswept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Paranoia, References to Implied Cannibalism, and Strong Language is used.

As the wind roughly pulls at her hijab, Ultra carefully inches forward over the built-in ladder bridging the two cliffs together. Her right hand is just a few inches short of touching the rocky wall of another cliff towering above them, however to her left is just open air and a  _ very _ long drop. She looks back towards Axial and the others as soon as her feet touch solid earth and soft grass, her hand immediately curling around the sturdy bamboo shoots decorated in colorful flags and rope. 

Axial’s stance is wide, his shoulders as stiff as a corpse, his mouth pressed so tightly together that he looks like a blue raisin. She has no doubt that his grip on Cub may as well be made of iron. He inches forward from the wall of the cliff from which they had descended and awkwardly crab walks closer to the ladder, his eyes immediately going askance and straight down as he visibly swallows.

“You’re not going to pass out?” His eyes jerk up to meet Ultra’s and even as he shakes his head, he looks paler than before. 

“No,” He hugs Cub tighter and the girl lets out a small squeak. “I’m fine.” 

From behind him, Inkytoes adjusts his grip on Cybil as he curiously peeks over the edge and down at the rapids far below. 

Axial lets out a hiss of breath as he steps onto the ladder, then withdraws his foot. “It doesn’t feel secure.” 

“It’s nailed in.” She presses her own foot back onto the ladder and while the ladder holds its weight, she can feel it wobble slightly. “Let me just…” She steps back on and Axial watches as she walks back over to their side. She gestures impatiently for him to step back and he complies with a nervous glance backward, before letting her step back down. “Let me take her and you focus on crossing.” 

His mouth opens to protest, but Ultra is already digging her hands under his arms and around Cub. Slowly, he eases his grip until Cub is all but pressed against his friend’s side. Ultra adjusts her hold and then turns around, not even hesitating as she steps back onto the ladder and walks across to the other side. As soon as her foot touches the ground, a sigh of relief escapes Axial. He steps forward, hesitates, and then inches his way onto the ladder. 

It’s only a few feet across; a risky jump for maybe the more daredevilish of dragons, but it takes Axial a few minutes of slowly inching forward before joining Ultra and Cub. His hands quickly latch onto the bamboo for support and as soon as his legs stop trembling, he takes Cub back. 

“I’m going ahead so there’s room for him,” Ultra says. “Let me know if there’s any problems.” 

Axial nods, once, then twice from nerves. “Sure.” 

His eyes stay on her for a few seconds as she follows the narrow path leading around a bend filled with bamboo, before slipping his gaze back to Inkytoes. 

The Reedcleft Ascent is by far among the prettier sights that they have seen in their travels. Each cliff’s top is covered in soft grass with long bamboo reeds growing along the paths; brightly decorated fabrics, flags, and wooden or metal plates are tied tightly to the reed either bearing a clan’s insignia or warnings. Usually near the center of the cliff is a large, deep pool of water that spills over one of the sides, however sometimes in place of the water is just a clear plot of soft grass with a few berries or vegetables, a small cabin, or even a few trees offering shade and protection from the worst of the wind. 

In their case, as Ultra carefully skirts around the narrow bend, she finds the cliff’s top opens up to reveal an alcove with just enough space to fit their mismatched group. She sets her bag down on the ground and stretches, looking out towards the horizon. Another reason why this is, in her opinion, one of the prettier regions; The view. From here, Ultra can see the expanse of the Windswept Plateau; from the idyllic Zephyr Steppes to the ever-turbulent Twisting Crescendo. 

She turns her back to the sight and pulls out their pan and some rocks, wood, and kindling. She sets up the firepit further inside, as far away as she can from the worst of the wind, and helps nurture the fire into a healthy glow. She’s pulling out some ingredients when she hears Axial shuffle closer and hurry inside, away from the wind. He sets Cub down, but before either mirror can say anything, she takes off towards the edge of the cliff- Cub is yanked into the air, her little feet still kicking as Axial tucks her under his arm and moves back inside, his blue skin even paler than she had last seen. 

“I told you-...” His words are lost as Ultra’s attention moves to the newest members. Inkytoes casts a weary look over the edge, once, twice, and clings to Cybil as he finally makes his way to the alcove. He ducks his head down, careful of his antlers as he slips in. Their gaze meets for a moment and he looks away; she turns her attention back to the meal. 

Inkytoes inches closer to where Axial is admonishing his child while also rolling out the cots. He’s… Not sure what to do to help. His gaze slips down to Cybil and he sets her down before crouching in front of her and taking the end of his shirt to wipe at a few stray black spots. He had been holding onto her for so long and so tightly that some of the shade had smeared across her arms and the side of her leg. He manages to get most of it off her, but the bit on her pant leg refuses to completely wipe off. It feels awkward being around these other dragons for as long as he has been. He’s gotten so used to just not talking that he hasn’t really made the effort to try and converse with either mirror since they left the Arcane region- outside of telling Cybil not to do something. 

At least Cybil seems to be enjoying this. She’s been inseparable from Cub as the two play and explore and run ahead occasionally throughout the trip. He’s happy she finally has someone her age to play with. And as far as Axial, it’s taken little time for the kid to warm up to the male dragon. Ultra, however...he follows Cybil’s gaze towards where Ultra is kneeling, peeling some of the cabbages they had found along the way- Cybil seems interested in everything this mirror seems to be doing, but has yet to approach her. He’s… Worried what will happen when she does. 

He looks back and watches as Ultra sets aside a moderately-sized pot, adjusting it into a better position over the fire. She takes out her wineskin and pours a decent amount into the pot before placing it aside. She holds her hand in front of herself and Inkytoes watches as a shadowy wisp appears around her hand, before it cracks and reforms into a more draconic claw which she uses to peel and cut the vegetables. 

After she’s done with that, she throws in a few indigenous insects they’d caught and soon the alcove is filled with a savory scent. 

With Cybil clean, Inkytoes gives her one last warning to stay away from the edge before shuffling off towards the side to take a seat and look over his own wrappings. He’ll need to fix a few things. He pushes that to the back of his mind as exhaustion presses down on him and he leans back onto the hard rock. He watches Ultra as she takes out the remains of the sparrowmouse the mirrors had hunted down and begins to cut out strips of meat to drop in the pan. 

Ultra probably doesn’t want his help- doesn’t need it, if he’s being honest- so he looks around aimlessly as his mind tries to churn through memories that seem to be lost in tar. He watches as Cybil finally approaches Ultra, stopping short and kneeling for a few seconds before scooting forward quietly closer to the other mirror. He hopes she doesn’t cause too much trouble. A snippet of a thought tumbles into his mind and right back out; His focus slips from Cybil, and he looks towards the back of the alcove. 

His gaze slips over to Axial, who’s managed to finish setting up their cots in record time and has moved onto checking the alcove for any extra materials to take. Cub’s sat near him, watching him, bored. Inkytoes watches them both for a minute, before his mind drifts again and he finds himself lost in his own thoughts. He closes his eyes and misses Cub’s look as her attention settles on him. 

Ultra does her best to not-so-subtly shift further and further away from the fledgling while working on their dinner. It’s a little difficult to do when she’s removing the sparrowmouse’s organs, but she manages. And yet, with every inch she puts between them, Cybil is quick to close it. Ultra can feel the girl’s eyes on her face and whenever she spares a glance, can see a curious smile on the fledgling’s face as she watches Ultra work. She glares back and shuffles a little more. Why is this fledgling even hanging around her? Shouldn’t she be playing with Cub? Axial would be even better suited for entertainment. She looks around for her friend, but it’s only the four of them in the alcove. She must have missed him step out. It’s fine, he’s probably climbing around looking for some materials that they can sell or eat later. Hopefully he doesn’t get fawn legs while climbing around. She stirs the pot and looks to Cybil who has managed to scoot even closer since the last glance. 

She squints. “Go away.” 

The little one’s red eyes widen as tears begin to pool. Her shoulders slump as she slowly scoots away from Ultra and towards the other side of the fire pit. From across the fire, she sits there with an overly-exaggerated pout on her face. Occasionally, her eyebrows press down as she gives the burning wood a mean glare. 

A few minutes pass by in silence as the pop of wood fills in the alcove. Ultra stirs the pot, pressing her lips together and doing her best not to glance at Cybil in case the little one gets the wrong idea. She moves the finished stew to the side and away from the fire to keep it from burning and begins to fry up something for herself and Axial. As she sprinkles some spices over the meat, she can see in her peripherals Cybil still curled tight, glaring at the flames. Something twists in her stomach. It’s probably hunger. She doesn’t feel guilty and if that weird feeling spikes whenever Cybil lets out a loud sniffle, it’s coincidence. 

It’s at the third sniffle, a loud, wet, snotty sniffle, that Ultra sighs and gestures for Cybil to come closer. 

Cybil practically jumps up and hurriedly makes her way back around to Ultra’s side. She sits next to Ultra, their sides touching, and watches as Ultra begins to fry the sparrow meat. If Ultra is bothered by the physical contact, she hides it well. She firmly moves the pan in circular motions. “You need to let it cook evenly.” She finds herself saying. “So that the entire bottom caramelizes.” 

Cybil’s ears perk up at Ultra's words, but Ultra doubts the little girl really comprehends what Ultra is even saying. Still, she finds herself unable to stop speaking as she instructs Cybil on the next step, testing the meats’ tenderness. She’s in the middle of telling Cybil how to effectively turn the meat over without scraping the pan when she feels weight against her leg. She looks down to find Cybil using her leg as leverage as she attempts to peer at the pan held in her hand. 

Her mouth twists. “Please,”  _ Get off my lap. Don’t touch me. Leave me alone. _ “Refrain.” 

Cybil stays where she is and looks up to Ultra, tilting her head slightly with a quizzical look on her face. Of course she wouldn’t understand. Ultra presses her lips tightly together. “I said, refrain.” She lightly nudges Cybil off her leg, praying to the Shadowbinder herself that the kid is smart enough to connect the dots. 

By the grace of her deity, Cybil doesn’t try to climb back on her. Instead, Cybil sits back on the ground and continues to quietly watch as Ultra resumes her work. 

Cub crawls over to Inkytoes. She stops short of his feet and stares. He’s very tall and very thin. He has a lot of black stains over his hands and mouth, but also across his neck. His hair looks purple, but not the same purple her dad and aunt’s eyes are. It’s softer and covered in dirt. His clothing is plain; brown with stains across it and a few miscellaneous patterns poorly sewn into the cloth. His tail is the same soft color, but oily and covered in dirt. She watches as he breathes in with a wet wheeze and then out. She tilts her head as she leans forward and wonders if the taller dragon has fallen asleep. 

And then, with the grace of a child, she stands up and physically jumps into his lap with a wild laugh. 

Inkytoes is violently ripped away from his thoughts as the sudden weight of a fledgling bruises his inner thighs. He jumps a bit, startled at the laughter, before freezing when he realizes that this fledgling is, in fact,  _ not _ Cybil. His heart begins to hammer and he’s certain it might just pound out from his chest any moment as he sits tensely like a stone totem. He glances around for help, but Ultra is focused on making dinner and Axial is nowhere to be seen. He could try to grab her- but, no, he can’t. If he grabs her, he might get goo on her and then Axial might kick his ass. But he can’t get up or move away because she might cry and then Axial  _ will _ kick his ass. All he can do is stay frozen, staring down at Cub like a deer in the headlights. 

Cub twists around, her back settling in the nook of his lap as she looks up to the underside of his chin. There’s more black stains and scars littered over his skin and it makes her think of the stars in the night sky back when they camped out in the Dragonhome. She lifts her little arms up, but alas, she is just too small and he is but a tall dragon. So, she adjusts. She moves around until she’s able to stand on his thighs and curiously looks over the frozen adult before reaching up with her tiny hands to try and pat at his cheeks. He winces. 

He’s still  _ very _ tall. 

Looking over his chest, shoulders, head, and then chest again, the little one digs her hands into his shirt and attempts to climb him. He cringes and his tail fidgets as he lets her. If she falls, he’ll catch her and that’s fine. If he stops her, she might get upset and that might not be fine. He’d like for things to stay fine. 

He anxiously watches and feels as Cub presses a foot against his stomach and tries to lift herself up only to stumble back. She adjusts her grip, reaching as far as she can and attempting to just pull herself up by sheer strength alone. She doesn’t get far. As the seconds pass to minutes, he watches as her little hands begin to crack and shift as her nails grow to claws and fur begins to crawl up the skin of her arm. As she grabs at his shirt, the nails dig through the cloth and into his skin and he winces again. His eyes water from the cuts as Cub finally manages to clamber up his chest and reach his shoulder, curling around his neck, and settling there. 

He can feel the blood begin to soak through his shirt as the weight of a fledgling pearlcatcher in their true form begins to bear down on his shoulders. Slowly at first, his body pitches forward away from the wall and as much as he tries to hold her up, he cannot. He quickly finds that his chest is now touching the ground as he’s been folded painfully forward. The tears in his eyes continue to well until they begin to sting, and he’s forced to clench them shut in pain. Pinned by the neck and shoulders, blind, he sucks in a sharp breath. 

And then he suddenly feels a small tongue lick the side of his face near his eyes and he gasps. She immediately rears away and he can hear her make a distressed, keening noise as she coughs and spits. He can feel her shift her weight back, closer to his lower back and it  _ aches _ . Bracing his hands on the ground, he tries to sit back up and feels the fledgling’s weight suddenly roll off of him as a gentle thud is heard somewhere to his right. He can’t exactly see whether or not she’s okay and if his heart was hammering before, it’s practically vibrating now. 

What happens if someone consumes shade goo? Is she infected? He doesn’t know, he never let Cybil touch the shade goo for too long, let alone put it in her mouth so he has no idea.  _ What if she’s already dying and he just can’t hear her? What if he just killed their kid? _

Inkytoes shakily breathes in and out quickly, his lungs tight with overwhelming panic. 

He sits up completely, his head reeling and dizzy, his lungs insufficient with air as any call for help dies as quick as the next inhale and exhale. He’s still blind and all he can hear is the buzzing of his own heart and ragged breathing. He draws his legs up to his chest and wraps his arms around them, then buries his face against his knees and wraps his tail around himself as a chill goes down his spine. 

How many times has he done this? How many dragons has he accidentally killed? How many other dragons has he murdered? How many dragons has he eaten? 

It feels like he’s fallen off the side of the cliff’s edge and into the rapids down below; the currents of his thoughts are dragging him down further and further into the water, filling his lungs with panic and doubt and fear. And no matter how hard he tries to swim against it, he’s  _ still _ drowning. 

The wind outside howls and pulls against Axial’s body, but in his true form, with his wings tucked tight against himself, it’s hardly a threat. However, maneuvering up the cliffside with one claw preoccupied is still difficult. He’s only a few feet from the mouth of the alcove considering checking out the cliff top off to the right when he catches the familiar chirping of a little fledgling. Without thinking twice, Axial surges upwards and reaches near the top, biting back an exasperated growl when he catches sight of Cub, in her true form, peering down over the edge of the cliff. She yelps and disappears as he reaches the edge and crawls onto even ground, watching Cub dart around excitedly in circles before rushing at him. 

He nips at the back of her neck, making sure she doesn’t barrel off the cliff top, while dancing around the little fledgling chasing after his paws and nipping at his heels with her little blunt teeth. He lets out an amused hiss and considers laying out here for a second when he looks up and notices Inkytoes. Immediately, his amusement is gone. 

His teeth bare automatically at the sight of the goo now pouring from Inkytoes nose, mouth, ears, and eyes. He eyes dilate and he can feel a low growl roll in his throat as he watches the infected imperial breathe in, out, in out,  _ in, out _ \- and something is wrong. The growl dies before it can leave his maw, the tension in his shoulders ease, and his ear fins lift up as he slowly realizes that Inkytoes is hyperventilating. He starts to move forward, but the alcove’s ceiling is too low for him to enter in his true form. He looks to Ultra, who spares him a glance, and he shifts. There are a series of cracks and wet sounds as his body begins to reform into something more anthropomorphic. Stark naked, Axial wastes no time striding forward - still easily dodging the fledgling attempting to run him over. Kneeling in front of the imperial, he looked over Inkytoes and cringed. From his side, Cub ceased her attacks to look over the imperial curiously and chirp, nudging at the others legs. Immediately, Inkytoes startles and he tries to stand his head hitting the top as he frantically, blindly, stumbles backwards against the rocky wall. He presses himself against the wall, his head bent awkwardly against the ceiling. 

“Don’t do that.” Axial hisses in his shadow dialect, gripping the back of Cub’s neck and gently, but firmly, pulling her back when she defiantly tries to do it again. He needs to de-escalate the situation. 

“It’s okay.” He says softly. “It’s just us; it’s Axial and Cub. It’s okay, you’re safe. No one is hurt. We aren’t going to hurt you. Just breathe with me.” 

He watches as the panicked breathing gradually slows down at Axial’s words as Inkytoes begins to slide down the wall into a sitting position. He tries to take a few deep breaths before lifting his shirt up to wipe at his face. “Is Cub okay? I can’t see.” 

Axial looks over at Cub, confused. “Yes, she’s fine. A little dirty.” He glances back to Inkytoes, his eyes trailing down towards a few fresh cuts on his chest. “Did she give you trouble?” 

The imperial’s shoulders relax and he rubs his eyes on the back of his arm, as if that’ll help him see more quickly. “No, she didn’t.” He doesn’t elaborate. 

Yeah, Axial doesn’t believe that for one second, but he doesn’t push..yet. Instead, he looks down towards Cub. “Change back into your anthro form.” He gestures at himself for example. “Then go to your Aunt. We  _ will _ talk later.” He points over to where Cybil and Ultra are at. 

Sheepishly, Cub nods and hurries over, partially phasing back into her more anthro form while still retaining more than a few dragon like features. Axial turns his attention back to Inkytoes, unsure what he should do to help. He… Really doesn’t want to touch the imperial, but the cuts are bleeding and the poor dragon hit his head on the ceiling and he’s temporarily blinded and Axial feels partially responsible for leaving Cub alone thinking Ultra was actually going to watch her without him having to tell her explicitly. 

“Wait here,” He says instead. “I’ll be right back.” 

Ultra watches as a half-anthro, half dragon Cub barrels into Cybil. She presses her hands against her face when Cub immediately shifts back into her true form before realizing she should probably put a stop to this right now. She watches as Axial goes by them and gestures at the two. He gives her a thumbs up. “You’ve got this.” He says reassuringly.

No, she does not have this.

Axial moves towards the back where his bag and clothes are, dropping the miscellaneous items he managed to find off to the side before pulling his underwear, pants, and sweater back on. He kneels down and digs through his bag, pulling out clean bandages and some cloth. He finds some disinfectant (they’re running low) and carries the items back to Inkytoes, sparing a sympathetic glance towards Ultra as she struggles to separate the, now two, true-formed fledglings wrestling on the ground. 

He kneels back down in front of Inkytoes, setting the items down and looking over the other once more. By the Eleven, he really hopes it doesn’t latch onto him or something. He could just hand this over and let Inkytoes blindly care for himself. He’s sure he’s done it before. But...ugh, the thought doesn’t sit right with him. Still, Axial carefully places the clean cloth into Inkytoes’ palm. “Here, you can use this to try and clean up some of the goo.” 

Inkytoes’ grip tightens around the cloth. “Thank you.” Blindly, he uses the cloth to wipe at the places where his skin feels sticky and wet with black fluid. He has no clue if he’s getting any of it since he can’t see himself. Even if he’s starting to be able to see big blurry shapes and colors, he’s still pretty certain that this is useless in the vision department. 

He’s… Mostly successful, but there are still major spots that Inkytoes is missing. Axial lets out a sigh and ignores the way his skin crawls when he resolves to help. He reaches out and gently cups Inkytoes hand, taking the cloth out with a soft “Here, let me.” He grimaces as he can feel the shade gunk stick to his skin as he pours a little disinfectant onto the cloth and reaches out again to clean off the remaining shade before focusing his attention on Inkytoes’ chest. 

“I’m going to need you to take off your shirt so I can clean up those wounds.” 

He complies and lifts his shirt up and over his head, setting it aside. He had hoped Axial wouldn’t have noticed those and does his best to sound light-hearted when he speaks; “She tried to climb onto my shoulders and shifted. It was… A little too heavy for me.” 

Axials nods his head as he listens, cleaning up the goo around the wounds first while using a torn off bandage to dab disinfectant over the wound. “She’s done that before, sorry.” Once the wounds were cleaned and disinfected, he began to wrap the bandages around. 

“The first time she did that to me, I actually collapsed and she slashed a gash in my arm in fear.” He chuckles at the memory. In little time, his work is done and he leans back to look over his handiwork. Not bad. 

“Cybil likes to pull tails sometimes… And ears… And horns. Just watch out when she’s mad.” He laughs. Axial chuckles along. 

His eyes trail up towards Inkytoes’ goo-coated eyes and he leans forward. “Hold still.” His voice is soft as he lightly presses the most clean part of the cloth just under his eyes and lightly tries to wipe them clean. The imperial goes still, but not tense as Axial works. 

When Axial continues their conversation, his voice is a low murmur. “Cub likes to punch and scream when she gets mad. Thank you for the warning.” He wipes at the last few corners, careful not to smear anymore into Inkytoes eyes, and leans back. “Can you see better now?”

Inkytoes blinks a few times and looks around. “For the most part, yes.” It’s not 100%, but it’s enough to keep him from accidentally walking off a cliff. “Thanks, by the way, I really appreciate it.” 

When he had been invited to join their group, he hadn’t thought that these dragons would have (somewhat) accepted him as a non-threatening  _ dragon _ . He assumed they’d just… Leave him alone for most of the journey, likely even ditch him, but instead Axial is helping him and he doesn’t even seem angry that Cub had climbed on him and touched- 

Wait. 

He never told Axial that Cub might have licked the goo. She doesn’t seem like she’s dying or turning into a mutated infected shade monster, but  _ what if she starts to _ ? Is it better if he says nothing and maintains this peace or says something and risks breaking whatever  _ this _ is?  **They’ll hurt us if they find out.** A familiar voice whispers in his head.  **They don’t need to know. Let them be comfortable around us.**

Axial doesn’t seem to notice his conflict. He gives the imperial a grin. “Don’t worry about it.” The mirror glances down at his hands, once, and barely hides a grimace. 

From her corner, the two girls once more in anthro forms with bowls full of soup, Ultra calls out; “Dinner’s ready.” 

Axial nods, then stands, offering his hand out to Inky. “Let’s go wash our hands and then get some dinner. I think I have some extra water in my waterskin.” 

Inkytoes smiles back and tentatively takes the hand that Axial has offered, standing up as well, careful of his head. He trusts the voice in his mind. He… He is enjoying this and- and really there is no need to ruin it so soon. The voice makes sense to him, so he keeps his mouth shut and listens. Reaching down, he grabs his shirt and pulls it back on before going with Axial to wash their hands and grab food. 

Once dinner was finished and after he had tucked the girls into their respective cots, Axial lingers by the fire. He idly pokes its dying embers with a stick while he listens to his friend breathe as she sleeps. He grins to no one whenever a snore stutters out her mouth, but for the most part, the alcove is quiet. The winds are ceaseless in their howling outside, but here in the encroaching darkness, it felt muted. The girls were also out, he knew that, but as he looks over towards Inkytoes, comfortably curled up on the floor of the alcove off to the side, he realizes that he has no clue if the imperial is asleep yet or not. 

The call to join them and sleep is heavy, but he can’t. He just... His grip tightens on the stick as guilt begins to pool in his stomach. He’s starting to understand that Inkytoes is just another dragon; a scared, honestly helpless dragon. But also… A shade-infected dragon. Even if nothing has happened yet to warrant this self-appointed sentry duty, Axial just… He can’t take the risk yet. It’s been days since the two have joined, and in that time Axial has managed to get at least three hours of sleep per night and, honestly, he’s very exhausted. 

But he can’t just stop. Inkytoes seems nice and he believes that he’s fighting to not hurt anyone, but Inkytoes is also thin, weak, and struggling. If he slips up, Axial needs to be awake for it. He has to… His head bobs and he finds himself opening his eyes. He has to stay awake. The next time he opens his heavy eyelids, the fire has died and he’s slumped against the wall. His limbs feel heavy and his tongue a brick in his mouth. He thinks about staying vigilant and then his eyes close and his breathing evens out. 

_ Inky feels.. Different. He is not in the alcove, but in a vast, empty plain. He looks down at his hands. The familiar oily blackness is there. He feels heavy. He’s not sure why. He looks at his surroundings, but can’t seem to move anywhere. The ground he had been standing on has turned into a seemingly endless pool of the thick, black fluid, as far as the eyes can see. His legs are completely submerged, and it feels like something is tight around his ankles, tying him to the bottom. _

_ Slowly, lazily, long spindly shapes emerge from the blackness. They rise up out of the liquid until they are revealed to be the fingers of many hands, then continue onward until the wrists beneath them are revealed as well. These pitch black arms continue to reach upward, sluggishly wrapping around him. They grab at him and weigh down his limbs. He slips and is suddenly fully submerged. He can’t see. He can’t breathe. Everything still feels so heavy. _

_ He wakes up in the alcove. He looks at his hands again. There is no black, in its place is a deep red. Panic fills his lungs and he looks around. There is no Axial or Ultra or Cub, he is alone. Thoughts begin to run through his mind like a broken record, “Where’s Cybil? Where are the others?” Suddenly, like an answer to the former question, she’s there. She’s laying in front of him, a few paces away. She’s still. Not moving. A red pool quickly forms under her. Her leg is now gone. A large portion of her torso is next. Piece by piece, she disappears as if some invisible monster is taking bites out of her. He can’t move, he can only stand there and watch. Soon all that remains is the puddle of red. _

_ The lower half of his face feels warm and wet. There’s a pleasant and full sensation within him, akin to having just eaten a wonderful meal after spending all day making it. He doesn’t feel heavy anymore. He is content. _

Inkytoes violently wakes up with a sharp intake of breath. He can’t feel Cybil’s weight tucked against him and he frantically starts to search when he remembers where they are and that she’s tucked in with Cub. He really wants to just go over to the fledglings and hold Cybil close-  _ her leg is missing as parts of her torso begins to disappear in a spray of red _ \- but he doesn’t. 

Instead, he gets up as quietly as he can and moves further away from the group until he’s up against a wall before settling back down. As much as he’d like to go back to sleep, he’s a little nervous about what else he might see… Or do.

Startled awake by the noise, Axial forces himself to sit up and aggressively rubs the sleep from his eyes. As he blearily blinks in the dark, he groggily realises that the noise had come from where Inkytoes had been sleeping. He looks over and squints at the empty space with confusion before looking around and spotting him further away than he last remembered. He definitely looks awake. 

After a few seconds of deliberation, Axial silently stands up and makes his way over. 

“Couldn’t sleep?” He whispers. 

“No. I didn’t wake you up, did I?” Inkytoes shifts and stretches, re-adjusting himself to get more comfortable against the wall. 

Axial shakes his head. “No, I was already awake.” He lies. 

He settles next to the other, unsure of what else to say or ask. As the conversation dies away back into silence, Axial finds it harder and harder to keep his eyes open. Each time they flutter open, he seems to have slipped further to the side until he’s all but leaning against Inkytoes for support. 

Inkytoes tenses up and looks over at the other dragon again. Whatever words they could have exchanged, he keeps to himself as he decides to just… Not move for the rest of the night as the other dragon falls asleep. He also decides that he definitely won’t be sleeping anymore, either. A solid decision. Besides, Axial’s been so nice to him and the last thing he wants to do is accidentally harm him and bring everything back to square one. 

He really doesn’t want that to happen. 

For the rest of the night, Inkytoes forces himself to stay awake. 

The journey down the clefts went roughly. The group struggled against the strength of the wind, forcing them to stop frequently and delay their journey further and further. More than a few times, Cub and Cybil nearly were ripped away from the grip of Axial and Inkytoes respectively. Each time, the dragons looked like they’d aged a whole decade. 

By the time they had reached the Steppes, Inkytoes was exhausted. 

Unlike the Reedcleft Ascent, the Zephyr Steppes are thankfully peaceful with only light breezes dancing around their bodies. Axial sets Cub down and stretches his back. 

“Finally, my arms were beginning to grow sore.” He meant to look at Ultra as he says this, but his gaze comes across Inkytoes first and a flash of embarrassment courses through him. He lets out an awkward laugh, then a weird wave, and then looks quickly away; Entirely befuddled as to why he even did that in the first place. He looks up at the snort of amusement from Ultra and gives her a glare. 

Inkytoes sets Cybil down as well and gives Axial a brief wave back, though clearly confused. He hasn’t figured out the other mirror at all; Why was he being so nice to him? There wasn’t anything to gain by doing that and it wasn’t like he really minded if either Axial or Ultra had a little distrust towards him- it would be dangerous if they didn’t. So why? 

He drops his hand, watching the two other adults, and feels a strike of familiarity. This sort of attention feels ( _ like a wave from a merchant’s stall _ ) achingly, ( _ shared heat pooled between two bodies as they slowly fall asleep star-gazing _ ) painfully ( _ her smile whenever their eyes would meet _ ) familiar. But like a word caught on the tip of his tongue, he can’t figure out why and the brief flashes of  _ something _ disappear back beneath the tar in his mind. 

Ultra strides over to Axial and loops their arms together, a prominent smirk written on her face as the two lead the group ahead. With the open plain and the light breeze, Cub is able to run ahead and roll around and play with Cybil as the adults talk. 

Ultra opens her mouth to speak, however Axial quickly beats her to the punch. “I don’t want to talk about it.” 

“You don’t know what I was going to say.” However, based on the look in her eyes, they both knew she was lying. 

He looks and pouts. “You’re just going to make fun of me.” 

Another snort. 

“I would never make fun of such a charismatic and  _ always _ charming dragon such as yourself. We’re friends.” 

His pout evolves into a frown. He doesn’t comment. 

There is a moment of silence before he feels a light squeeze on his upper arm. He gives her a curious glance and is surprised to see gentle concern. “He didn’t do anything last night, did he?” 

Axial bites back a laugh. 

Inkytoes wasn’t the one who waltzed right over in the middle of the night and invited himself to a jam session about feelings, only to fall asleep and drool on some poor guy’s shoulder. No, no, that was all  _ him _ . And was Inkytoes the one who, upon waking up, screamed and kicked away from said dragon he had used as a cot for the rest of the night? The answer is obvious and he doesn’t have to answer that. In fact, Axial suppresses that memory as soon as he thinks of it. 

Somehow, Ultra is able to get a gist of what he’s thinking, because she relaxes considerably. 

“That’s good.” She says, looking ahead, smile curling back into a teasing smirk. “You were just being an awkward oaf.” 

“Th-that is a jump to a conclusion,” His voice goes up with indignation. “When have I ever- I am insulted.” He sputters as an embarrassed flush of purple covers his face. 

They walk a few more minutes before Ultra interrupts the quiet. 

“You should talk to him.” 

Axial levels her with a reluctant stare. He tries to unwrap his arm from hers, but she’s got a strong grip. As soon as she pinches his side, he lets out a small yelp and gives up. 

“Things are already awkward and I don’t want it to get worse,” She explains as she carefully steps down from a steppe while Cub barrels past her in her true form. “Allowing secrets and misunderstandings can cause things to fester, and when things fester, clans fall apart.” 

He raises a brow at that. “So you see us as a clan?” He lets out another yelp when she punches his arm. “What’s that for?” 

“Don’t redirect the conversation. And don’t-” She presses a finger to his mouth to keep it from opening. “-try to talk over me either. I don’t like it when you do that.” She pulls her hand back as they keep walking. 

Axial rubs the back of his neck. “Look, I just really don’t want to-…”

“But you need to.” Ultra interrupts, ignoring Axial’s muttered “hypocrite”. “For the sake of our… New group, we need to have stability.” 

And now the ace in the hole. With a well practiced expression of concern, coupled with a far-away look aimed coincidentally toward the children playing, she gently says; “Think of the fledglings.” 

She quickly turns her head away to hide her triumphant smile at his groan of defeat. 

Inkytoes hangs further back behind the two dragons. His mind feels like it’s swimming between exhaustion and his own thoughts and, in turn, the world around him seems duller and closer to white noise. He yawns lightly and then pats his hands against his face, trying to wake himself up a little bit. His eyes follow the kids and immediately the dream from last night rears its ugly head. 

He sucks in a breath.  _ It wasn’t real. _ He reminds himself.  _ Everyone’s fine. I’m fine.  _

**You won’t be fine if they found out you lied.** The voice speaks up from the back of his mind.  **Those dragons? They don’t trust you and you shouldn’t trust them.**

Usually the voice is right, but… But he ignores it. He doesn’t want to believe in what it’s saying. He wants to trust Axial and Ultra- and he wants them to trust him. His gaze lingers on the two adults chatting and then looks back to Cybil, watching as she chases Cub around in her true form as well. When was the last time he had fully transformed? Imperials are… He knows that they are among the larger dragon breeds. It would be a bad idea to try and shift while surrounded by others. He could wait-

Movement from the corner of his eye pulls him from his thoughts as he pauses and then moves closer to investigate. He crouches down and pulls the few shrubbery aside to reveal a small Steppes box turtle. He picks it up.  _ Cybil would probably enjoy this _ , he thinks as he stands up from his crouched position and looks for the girl. 

“Cybil.” He calls out. His voice is loud enough to catch her attention. Axial jumps at the noise while Ultra sucks in a breath. They both turn and watch as Cybil grins back towards the imperial and bolts towards Inkytoes with Cub hot on her tail. Ultra glances at Axial’s face and catches a visible wince when Cub is close enough to touch Inkytoes. He opens his mouth, prepared to command her to come back, when Ultra squeezes his arm again. 

“You need to talk with him.” 

Axial closes his mouth. Then he sighs and runs a hand across his bald head. “You’re uncomfortable around him too.” 

“And I will talk to him later.” She looks over to the three googling over the turtle. Inkytoes places the turtle back on the ground and the three crowd around to watch it inch away. In less than a few seconds, Cybil pounces on Inkytoes’ tail instead. “But for now, you should talk to him first.” 

Days pass as they travel through the Steppes; there is nothing but flat grassland around them going for miles and miles. Northeast, the Zephyr Steppes rise into a mountain that is barely half the height of the Ascent with the Cloudsong perched a distance above its peak. To the Southwest, the Twisting Crescendo screams its song of rage as it covers most of the horizon in its dark, grey clouds. Ahead sits the Great Furnace’s glowing outline hallmarking their approach to the Ashfall Waste. They still had more than a few days' journey ahead of them before they reached the borders, but they were getting closer. 

As the day winds down and after supper is eaten, Axial decides that now is a good time to talk with Inkytoes. 

He patiently waits until Ultra is snoring and the girls have tired themselves out and have drifted off to sleep as well to quietly creep over. Inkytoes, lost in his thoughts, jumps slightly when Axial taps on his shoulder and looks up with an expectant, but friendly, expression. It’s been a while since their last nighttime… “Conversation” and he can’t help but wonder if Axial is planning on using him as a pillow again tonight. 

Axial waves back a little. “Sorry.” He whispers. “I didn’t mean to startle you. Can I, uh, join you?” 

“It’s alright.” He whispers back. 

Axial sits down next to him and doesn’t seem to notice, or care, about how close they are to each other. The mirror appears to be muttering something under his breath, looking like he’s mentally preparing himself for a speech, and, though wary, Inkytoes enjoys the way their arms occasionally brush together. 

Axial clears his throat. “So… I wanted to talk.” He looks up towards Inkytoes and then gestures between them. “About us and that other night, back at the Reedcleft.” It looks like whatever he’s saying is almost physically painful, Axial takes a subtle inhale as he continues. “I want to get a few things off my chest.” 

Inkytoes patiently waits for Axial to continue. 

“I feel like we…” He gestures again between them. “Have gotten off on the wrong foot.” 

Axial stares down at his own feet and clears his throat again as an embarrassed flush settles across the back of his neck. He scratches at the base of his earfin, makes a face, and when he speaks again his tone is much more serious. 

“It must be hard being infected. From what I know, most dragons see infected dragons like just another form of the shade. They’re dangerous and… Savage.” He pulls his legs up to his chest. “When I met you, I didn’t see you as another dragon and sometimes,” Sometimes he still struggles to, “I just forget… And I don’t even know if you remember where you came from or…” He cuts off his own ramble. He hugs his legs.

“I’m still scared.” He finally admits. “I’m scared to trust the shade inside of you. But,” He unfurls, his gaze finally moving from his feet to Inkytoes’ face. “With each day, I feel like I can trust  _ you _ .” 

Inkytoes eyes widen at that. Axial continues. 

“I haven’t been sleeping and I’m worried about that thing inside of you, but I want to help however I can because you’re our family now.” Sitting up, Inkytoes watches as Axial reaches over and places his hand on Inkytoes’ arm without wincing or hesitating. “I’m going to help you and support you and protect you.” 

Inkytoes looks back up to Axial’s smiling face as Axial’s tone grows softer. “I don’t fully understand what it’s like to be infected, but Ultra and I know what it’s like to be alone. It’s… Hard. When they found us, I had been so happy and loved and… I want you to feel the same way. I don’t want you to feel alone again.” 

He had expected Axial to ask him to leave. He would have understood. But as of right now, he isn’t sure how he feels with this sudden support. Confusion, sympathy, relief, anxiety, and something else all hit him at once as Inkytoes feels himself become overwhelmed with sentimental elation. For once, he belongs. He can already feel the tears stinging his eyes as his face contorts in an effort to reign his emotions back in. Black, sticky tears roll down his cheeks. 

“Sorry,” He wipes at his face with the back of his arms. 

Immediately, Axial looks panicked. “Oh no.” He mutters. “Oh gods.” He says, but with feeling. “Don’t cry, shit, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” His hand awkwardly hovers near him, close to his arm. “I’m sorry.” 

Inkytoes can’t tell if Axial is getting more panicked or not since he’s all but buried his own face in his hands, but he can hear him mumbling something and-

And he’s hugging him. 

Inkytoes breath hitches as Axial tightens the hug. He presses his hands closer against his face, hoping that he’s keeping Axial from getting coated in his inky tears. 

“...Why are you so nice to me? I know you explained it all but I just... I don’t understand.” 

Axial tightens the hug as he answers. 

“Because you aren’t just a shade, you’re a dragon like me and Ultra and the girls. You have feelings and hopes and dreams- who was I to treat you like those never existed?” Inkytoes can hear Axial force back a sniffle. “Everyone deserves a second chance. I didn’t even give you a first when we met. So, I hope you can give me a second chance so you can see how important and strong you are. I want you to be happy.” 

Inkytoes moves his hands from his face and reciprocates Axial’s hug. He doesn’t even think half of those things about himself, he’s always considered himself as  _ just a shade _ , and here Axial is telling him that he wants him to be happy. 

“Thanks.” He mutters. 

**He’s lying. He’s trying to trick you.** Inkytoes reluctantly lets go of Axial, unsure whether he should trust the dragon in front of him or the very convincing voice in his head.  **You should get rid of him. Kill him. Eat him.** Nevermind on convincing, he’s definitely going to ignore the voice then. 

“It’s the truth. I just wanted to clear the air.” He gives Inkytoes a smile. “Ultra believes that a clan has to stay strong and so we have to be honest and open with each other.” He pulls his arms away and lets them rest in his lap. 

“Even if it takes a while, we should work to be comfortable around each other and, given how we’ve acted so far, just earning your trust and comfort is important. Just… Know that we’re here for you now, no matter what.” The earlier flush begins to creep back onto his neck. He looks away towards where the Crescendo should be and starts to get up. “Uh, I should let you sleep. I can leave, if you want me to.” 

“Thanks again.” He pulls up the bottom of his own shirt and wipes his face on it. 

“You don’t have to leave, I… Probably won’t be able to sleep anyways.” He’s going to try his best to sleep, but he doubts his mind will stay clear of those awful things, especially considering how aggressive the voice had been earlier. 

Axial hesitates, then nods, but doesn’t sit back down yet. “Let me get you something for your eyes first.” 

He’s gone for a few minutes; Inkytoes can hear him dig around in his bags and then more rustling. When he returns, Axial drops something else to the ground before handing him a cloth. “For your eyes.” 

“Thanks.” As he wipes at his closed eyes with the cloth, his ears perk up at the sound of fabric being moved around. He’s not 100% positive, but he’s pretty sure Axial has brought a blanket. He can hear more rustling and then a content hum before silence fills the air. He must have fallen asleep. 

With his vision currently at vague shapes, Inkytoes sets aside the cloth and lays down, curling as closely as he can to preserve heat. There’s a few more seconds of silence before Inkytoes is acutely aware that he’s not only being covered in blankets, but that Axial is pressing close to his back too. And he’s warm,  _ incredibly _ warm. It’s like when Cybil snuggles up to him, but if Cybil was much larger and much more awkward. 

“You were shivering.” Axial quickly says. “I, uh, was offering you some of the blankets, but I didn’t say anything and you couldn’t see me and now I’m lying against you and, oh, uh, I could just leave if you want if this is too awkward- this is probably very awkward.” 

Inkytoes does not make any attempt to move. 

“It’s fine, you’re very warm.” He shifts around a little, trying to pull all of himself under the blankets. He feels…  _ Very _ comfortable now and despite what he had initially said earlier, sleep somehow finds him in the night. 

Ultra stands over the pair, a hand to mouth to try and hold back her own laughter. She had been worried when she woke up to find Axial missing from his cot, but now, as she takes in the sight of the two dragons curled up under the blankets, she finds that her worry was not needed. A small part of her still...screams for her to check that Axial is alive, but she can see him breathing and it makes it easier to ignore the paranoia still dug deep in her mind. 

A snort slips out between her fingers and Inkytoes’ eyelids flutter before opening and glancing around tiredly. When he sees Ultra, he sits up, looking between her and Axial just now rousing. Axial sits up, groggy and still exhausted, and slowly realizing that Ultra is laughing at him. He gives her a confused look, but then he looks towards Inkytoes, then at the black goo that had dried on his nightshirt, and then the blankets- his face flushes in embarrassment. 

“You know it’s not what it looks like.” He yells, glaring when Ultra merely doubles over and wheezes in response. 

Inkytoes looks between them again, even more confused. Whatever it is, the imperial yawns and flops back down, pulling a blanket over his face and tuning out the mirrors’ banter as sleep claims him once more. 

A few hours later, after Axial threatened to throw Ultra’s nice scroll into the grasslands for all their teasing, the group had set off again. The day passed in a happy blur; Cub and Cybil played around on the steppes while Axial occasionally paused to collect vegetation and other scraps. Ultra shared in Cub’s enthusiasm whenever she pointed to some of the floating cities high above their head and Axial and Inkytoes walked together and enjoyed the view, including the distant cyclone far west. 

It was an overall lovely day. 

Now, as they settle on the steppes, open to the wind and the stars above them, the excitement morphs into exhaustion and quiet contentment. Cub nestles against her father’s chest as he tells her stories of the constellations overhead. Cybil inches closer, having given up chasing Inkytoes tail for this instead. 

Ultra smiles at the trio, fully aware that Axial is making up all the stories, before turning her attention towards Inkytoes. The dying light traces the side of his face as he looks out over the Windswept with blatant admiration. Taking advantage of this moment of peace and potential privacy, Ultra walks over to Inkytoes. 

She lifts a hand in greet. “Care if I joined you?” 

“I don’t mind.” He gives her a smile. 

“Thank you.” 

Ultra sits down on the grass, making sure to keep a clear distance between them. She turns her attention towards Inkytoes as she calmly and without a speck of nervousness, re-flattened her skirt draped over her lap. 

“As you have already experienced with Axial, I wanted to ‘clear the air’,” She says while air quoting. “And be honest with how I feel regarding you.” 

She clears her throat and stares him directly in the eyes. 

“I’ve come to realize that you are… A different dragon than I had expected you to be. You’ve proven yourself to be a.. Gentle soul. You had the opportunity to hurt Cub- to hurt the fledgling of the dragons that had already hurt you, but, instead, you protected her and humored her.” 

She twists the cloak between her hands. 

“I respect that and I find myself endeared to your situation in a way that is usually difficult for me when it comes to strangers.” She lets go of the cloak.

“I want to trust you… Inkytoes. However, I can never forget the monster that I saw that day.” Her expression hardens as anxiety curls within her stomach. “That shade is dangerous and toxic. It is killing you and using you like a puppet. I don’t trust that nor do I tolerate it. However… That doesn’t mean I don’t trust you.” 

She pauses again, as if to gather her courage for sharing so much in such little time. At his nod, she continues. 

“You and the shade are two different and distinct beings. You don’t need the shade, it needs you. With that said, we’re here for you. Through thick and thin, we are now our own clan and neither Axial nor I will easily give up on you.” She keeps her gaze steady as she meets the other’s eyes. “And I’m sorry for attacking you and suggesting… I’m sorry for that.” 

Throughout this, Inkytoes had followed along and nodded, however at the mention of the shade, he can’t help but dwell on her words. He could feel something moving within him, as if his very blood was uneasy with her words. 

_ I don’t need the shade, it needs me.  _

The phrase repeats itself in his head and gradually starts to twist into something new. 

**_I need the shade. It is me._ **

He’s not sure what to say. He’s sure Ultra is wrong about the shade and that while it’s not good for other dragons to be  _ around him _ , he doesn’t think it's  _ killing him _ . He knows it uses him like a puppet, but that’s only when he gets really hungry or really scared, right? 

He’s not sure anymore. 

He sits in silence for a moment, thinking. “It’s killing me?” 

She doesn’t hesitate. “Yes, I think it is.” At his silence, she continues. 

“Have you ever heard of the Ophiocordyceps unilateralis? I learned about it from a dragon named Hydnellum, he sometimes would visit the coastal city back when- that’s not important. What’s important is that this fungus is infamous for infecting ants to commit suicide in order to spread.” She pauses, waving a hand mid-thought. “He explained it better. But, look, your relationship with the shade is as parasitic as the relationship between this fungus and the ants that it infects. 

_ They don’t understand the limits of a dragon’s body. _ She thinks to herself.  _ They always end up falling apart.  _

Inkytoes looks pensive if not slightly distressed. 

It’s killing him? Is the voice in his head his subconscious or is it the shade? Is it the shade that’s responsible for his recent dreams and impulses, or is it just himself? Is the shade making him dangerous, or is the shade just a silent inhabitant, waiting?  _ The shade is a part of him, though. He  _ **_can’t get rid of it. He is the shade._ ** __

He isn’t sure what to say. Both the shade’s thoughts and his own thoughts are essentially playing a tug-of-war in his mind and the shade is desperate. 

Ultra looks away to stare down at her hands, she looks unnerved. She clears her throat. “Do you have anything you want to share with us?” 

Inkytoes tries to silence the conflict going on in his head by forcing himself to listen to Ultra. “I… I don’t know… I think it’s trying to make me think things..? I don’t know what to believe. I can’t tell my own thoughts apart from it. I want to believe you.” The shade is  **unhappy** . It  **bubbles** and  **seethes** inside him and his mouth and nose begin to drip more fluid than usual. 

Ultra listens with growing concern as she realizes that the shade is  _ talking _ to him. A cold chill goes down her spine when she realizes that the shade can understand her. That it could understand enough of her inferences to try and make him doubt her and Axial. In that moment, as she stares into Inkytoes’ conflicted eyes, watching as more black fluid drips from out, she understands that she’s toeing a dangerous line. 

_ They have to get rid of this parasite. _ But they also can’t let Inkytoes know. Not yet. 

She’s afraid to reassure him, afraid of what the shade may do to him and to them all, but seeing him look like this is enough to make her say something. 

“Thank you for sharing this with me.” She says carefully, not reaching out to comfort him. “It’s going to be okay.” She isn’t sure what else she can say, but she presses on. “We are here for you, even when you aren’t sure, we are here to listen to any issue you may have. You are not alone anymore, you have Axial and I to talk with.”  _ You’re going to survive this monster _ , she doesn’t add. 

The horrible feeling of the agitated shade writhing inside him begins to lessen as Ultra’s words carry  _ less _ of a threat towards it. Inkytoes visibly relaxes at her reassurances, but he still feels uneasy. A nagging feeling sits in the back of his mind, trying to subtly convince him that  **Ultra is a threat** . However, he does his best to ignore it for the time being. 

“Well, I’m glad we cleared the air,” She stands up, eager to leave. “I’m going to bed now.” 

“Mh,” He nods. “Goodnight.” 

He watches her go. He can’t help but feel like the air was cleared for more than just the two of them. He feels like a fog has been lifted slightly in his mind, even though the fog mostly is still there. He’s… Aware that the shade is manipulating him. He knows that it’s changing his thoughts, but it’s still difficult not to trust it. 

Still, he doesn’t want to sleep tonight. What if the shade tries to take him over in his sleep? With how it reacted to her words, he can’t help but worry that it might try to hurt her. He doesn’t want it to hurt her. Now that he’s aware… He swallows some of his anxiety down and doesn’t move from his spot away from the group. Eventually, he lays down and curls up as sleep evades him for the night. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the feelings jam. I don't know when the next chapter will be, but hopefully it won't be as long.


	6. Chapter 6 Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The party bonds further as they enter into the fire nation; talks are had and shopping trips are taken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Strong Language
> 
> This chapter has been split into two parts with this being the longer of the two.

It’s been a few days since their late night talk and the heat has become prominent in the wind that sweeps across the plains. Within that short time, the vibrant greens and yellows of the Windswept have morphed into rich browns, blacks, and grey shrubbery. Ahead, the dirt path dances and writhes under the light of the sun as more rocks jut out and reach for the horizon above. Axial shields his eyes, wipes his brow, and glances down at the two girls crowded around his feet at the top of the rock face. Almost instinctively, Cub happens to look up and share a grin as beads of sweat slowly begin to form on the sides of her temple. Cybil’s gaze remains locked on Ultra and Inkytoes a few feet down below them, waiting.

“We don’t have all day.” Ultra shifts her weight, a mild grimace written on her face as she wipes another bead of sweat away. “Do you see the pass?” 

The pass is among the few bridges that they know of that’s sturdy enough to connect the Windswept with the Ashfall without breaking apart or catching on fire. Located near the northern coast of both regions, the bridge itself is wide enough to fit a caravan and sturdy enough to not buckle under it. It’s the safest option when traveling with fledglings and the closest to them currently. 

“Yeah, it’s further up North, but still visible.” 

“Great, come down so we can get moving. I don’t want it to hit midday as we reach the Ashfall.” 

Axial crouches down and carefully begins to climb down the jutting rock- though not without helping the two girls safely get down first. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he strides forward, all too eager to cross the border and scavenge for lava rock. Back in their murky homeland, it’s a popular item amongst the crowd. He passes Inkytoes quickly, who opens his eyes after basking in the heat, and walks ahead of the group, leading them onwards. 

It takes them a few more hours till they reach the bridge settled along the rocky cliff sides, the sun has started to rise further into the sky and the heat sits heavily on their shoulders. Outside of a clear sheen of sweat, neither Axial nor Ultra seem to be having too much issue- the plague dragons, however, are starting to look spent. 

“A water break.” Inkytoes unties his canteen and crouches by Cybil, holding the drink out for the little one to take. He’s stayed close to the kids for most of the journey, which Axial finds he doesn’t mind as much as he would have weeks ago. “Don’t give me that look, drink some more.” 

Cybil takes the canteen, but the irritated look doesn’t disappear as she takes a few gulps of water and hands it back to the imperial. Immediately, he has Cub drink as well. 

“Once we cross, it should take us another hour or two before we reach the first village. We’ll be able to stay there for the night-”

“Nothing too fancy.” Ultra quickly interjects, voice low. “We’re starting to run low.” 

“-we’ll stay somewhere nice and affordable.” Axial amends. “There should be another town halfway between there and the Hearth. If we’re lucky, we should reach it before dusk tomorrow.” 

He looks at Inkytoes, Ultra, and the girls expectantly. “Any questions?” 

No one moves to raise their hand. 

“Cool. Cub, come here.” He scoops the little one up so that half her side is pressed to his chest and looks towards Inkytoes and Cybil. “It’ll be safer to carry them across just in case. Do you want Ultra to-”

“I can do it.” Carefully, Inkytoes reaches down and lifts up Cybil. Instead of steadying her on his shoulders like he usually does, he keeps her secure in his arms. 

Unlike most bridges, it feels sturdy under their feet. There’s still a slight sway as they make their way across the chasm and onto the Ashfall Waste, but there aren't any creaking or rotting pieces of structure. And despite being primarily made of metal, the radiating heat ahead of them hasn’t been absorbed into the bridge. Unlike the air around them, it felt like they were still walking through the glades of the Windswept. 

As soon as they reach the other side and cross the border, it’s like they’ve passed a threshold as a wave of heat rolls over the party. Ultra lets out a cough as more ash fills the stagnant air and the ground under them thrums with warmth. It isn’t till they are several feet away from the chasm’s edge that Axial is forced to set Cub down. He hands her some of his own water and as she drinks, pulls off his sweater and stuffs it into his bag. When he takes the water back, he notes the growing scowl on Cub’s face. 

“Okay, we gotta keep going.” Even at his prompt, Cub doesn’t move to sit up from the ground. She tries crossing her arms once over her pudgy stomach, but when that seems to make the heat worse, uncrosses them and frowns. The ground is starting to get hot and it’s only a matter of time before things get loud. “Come on.” He slips his hands under her armpits. 

“No!” Her shout starts in a high squeal, but even that seems to make the heat worse as the fight quickly leaves her. He settles her on his shoulders as her upper body melts over his bald head. 

They continue onwards and stick along the coast for as long as the route permits before venturing further inland towards the heart of the Ashfall Waste. It feels like they’re walking into a furnace. Every minute feels like an hour just as every step feels like it’s gotten ten degrees hotter- even for him and Ultra, as shadow dragons, the heat was starting to get uncomfortable. 

Ultra has removed most of her starlight cloak in favor of simpler attire. Her hijab is not only held by her small pins, but also by the sweat of her temple and nape. She stretches and rolls her head, grimacing more at the stiffness in her shoulders than the arid heat. Their eyes meet and he offers an encouraging smile. “We’re almost there.” 

She offers him a confused look followed by a lazy, obscene gesture. He winks back, of course. 

Then he glances back to where Inkytoes is supposed to be- only to find him _ further  _ back than Axial remembered him last walking. Inkytoes isn’t hunched over like a thirsty dragon dying of dehydration, but he’s  _ certainly _ slower. He lets out a short whistle and juts a thumb towards Inkytoes and Cybil. 

The confused look upgrades to a puzzled one. Ultra raises a brow, still walking. 

Okay, fine, he’ll just have to talk. 

“I think we have a problem.” 

“Oooh, what’s that?” With more energy than he’d expected, Cybil points out to another small stream of lava way off in the distance. “I think it’s lava.” He doesn’t remember seeing lava before, but the word comes easily to his mind and he’s sure that this must be that. 

“That’s a really big rock!” 

He looks over to the left where a few blackened rocks have formed a circle in a crater far from them. From a distance, the rocks still look decently large. “Yes, several.” 

“That cloud looks like a toad!” 

He slows down and squints upwards; all the clouds are grey and ashy and none of them look like toads. “Hm.” He keeps walking. 

His eyes trail back to the mirrors talking up ahead. In his mind, darkness swells as pinpricks of light pierce high above while the scent of bamboo and lemongrass dances between him and Ultra. Her words are carried by the wind as it faintly announces it’s arrival and departure and as it goes, so too does the vision and the redden husk of the Waste fills in once more. The mirrors have altogether stopped, eyes on him as he realizes that he’s slowed down considerably. 

He picks up the pace immediately. “Ah.” He needs to focus, they can’t afford to get lost out here. His face feels obscenely wet and judging by the sticky feeling, it’s a safe bet to say that some of the sweat is tinged black. In an effort to not jostle Cybil, he carefully wipes with a corner of his frayed, stained shirt across the lower half of his chin. 

As soon as he’s in a few feet of them, Axial turns on his heel and continues. Ultra lingers long enough until her eyes land on his face. She clenches her jaw, her eyes widening a fraction, before turning away and walking ahead. She’s not sure if he noticed her reaction, but she’s not about to check. 

It takes several more hours before they reach the village. It is...quaint; there are enough visible buildings for it to be a functioning town and one could easily suppose that some served the dual purpose of being lived in. As far as crops went, Axial could only guess it was imported. It only took them a few minutes to find the ‘inn’; an older two-story home with two extra spare bedrooms empty for possible travelers and a covered porch that seemed to wrap around the entire estate. The owners, two fire-flighted spirals, were kind and offered the two rooms at a cheap price with two complimentary meals thrown in. 

This made sense given that there was no ice magic present to help mitigate the heat that’s permeated into the house. 

It made mealtime difficult to enjoy and it took longer than usual just to get the girls to bed even after they removed the sheets and their usual garments. Axial isn’t sure how Inkytoes is faring. He didn’t bother checking on the imperial before he went outside to sit on the porch with Ultra. 

He lets out a slow, understanding hum and then throws in a head nod for good measure. He doesn’t have to be looking at her to know that she’s giving him a disbelieving look. 

“Are you really still confused?” She deadpans. 

He tries to look offended, but it looks more like a small frown. “Sort of? I mean, look, I can get behind the idea that Inkytoes and the shade are two different beings.” His frown deepens. “But...the shade controlling his thoughts? I thought the shade was like...parasitic  _ jello _ . I mean, sure, I guess if its affecting them emotionally, but there’s no way it’s whispering in his ear like-like...like some kind of..I don’t know. I just don’t see it being  _ that  _ complex.” 

Ultra shifts in her seat, forgoing the arm cross for a deep exhale instead. “I get it, I do. I’ve never read or heard about shades  _ talking _ , but there has to be some agency for it to be manipulative. We both know that Inkytoes isn’t the shade-”

“-Right-”

“And in most of the stories we were told, it’s always the shade that manipulates the poor dragon or, you know, eats them.” 

“But that’s like,” He waves his hands and wiggles his fingers by the sides of his head. “Brain chemicals and stuff. It’s just- how did he describe it?- it’s just  _ biological _ .”

“Okay, but you didn’t see what I saw. Whenever I started talking poorly about it, more liquid seemed to seep out from him...it was like it  _ knew _ that I was going to suggest exorcising it-”

“-Purifying.”

“Whatever.” Ultra hunches over, letting her arms rest on her legs as a distant beast cries out in the darkness. Even after the sun has gone down and disappeared, there’s enough glow from the lava rivers to make it feel like the sun is still setting. “There was a haze in his eyes and a look that I haven’t seen since…” She shivers. 

It’s too hot to offer her some physical form of comfort, so he just looks at her and sits in quiet support. He hadn’t seen Inkytoes under the shades control nor the carnage like she had, but he remembers the urgent look in the imperial’s eyes when he begged Axial to look after Cybil. And the fear. 

“I think I understand a little.” He says after a moment. “But it’s just hard to imagine.” 

“I know.” She lets out a sigh, sitting up. “I just need you to trust me when I say that we shouldn’t bring up our plans to have him purified. Something in my gut says if we do, it’s just going to end badly. Promise me you’ll keep it hush.” 

He nods. “Of course, I trust you.”

The next day feels even hotter; they start early, before the sun has a chance to rise, but as the hours wane on and the light covers every corner of the molten waste, even the shadow dragons find themselves struggling to keep moving forward. Most of the party have stripped down to their bare garments; sheens of sweat have settled over their skin like a glaze over a pottery bowl along with a strong flush painting their flesh. When the edge of town is visible from the top of the mound, the sun is on its trek to setting and yet- and yet, it is so hot they may as well be melting. 

Ultra swigs another gulp of water and offers it to Axial. 

“I hope to god they have some ice magic or something.” She wipes at her forehead, her shoulders drooped from exhaustion and heat. She glances at Axial as he adjusts Cub in his grip. He looks as uncomfortable as Cub from the additional body heat. He hands it to Cub. 

“That’d be nice.” He clears his dry throat and looks back towards Inkytoes. “I can’t believe he isn’t more phased.” 

She follows his gaze; outside the similar layer of sweat, the imperial is still standing tall, alert, if not a little dehydrated. His perpetually drooped ears perk up as he notices their attention- it’s hard to tell if there’s a flush of embarrassment or not underneath the flush from the heat. 

“That bastard.” 

His fingers feel like sausages, he’d like to get out of the heat. “Let’s keep going, at least the town is bigger so hopefully we’ll have more options.” He trudges forward, Ultra groaning as she reluctantly follows after. 

It takes close to another hour before they reach the actual town. It’s agonizing and as soon as Axial spots a bench, he takes it. His chest heaves up and down as Ultra passes nearby, glancing back and waiting for Inkytoes and Cybil to catch up. A few of the local fire-flighted residents glance their way, knowing looks in their eyes as they pass by without a word. Axial doesn’t care. He tilts his head back and groans as the heat from above and below relentlessly cooks him. 

“I’m going to look for a place with ice magic, or at least artificial ice magic, so just stay here.” Ultra pushes away from the bench, glancing at Axial once with a frantic look. “I don’t care about the cost, we just need to get out of this  _ heat _ .” 

“Sounds good.” 

He listens to her walk away. Then, he listens to the locals idling by, until a shadow flickers over his lids. He cracks an eye open and grimaces when he sees Inkytoes. He sits up, setting Cub aside on the bench and slowly gesturing the imperial over. “You look like shit. Come here.” 

“Oh, uh.” 

Axial watches as Inkytoes ambles over and sets Cybil next to Cub before sitting next to him, looking worried and uncomfortable. Axial reaches out and presses his hand on Inkytoes shoulder, guiding him to look at him with a black streaked stained face. “They’re not going to let us in if you look like death.” Digging into his bag, Axial pulls out his undershirt and folds it before reaching out for Inkytoes’ face. With one hand holding his chin, Axial gently rubs at the stains with the other. Inkytoes closes his eyes. 

“...there..” Axial leans back and stuffs the shirt (rag now) into his bag to deal with later. “Much better.” 

It takes Ultra record time to find an inn with an artificial I.M. and even shorter time for them to book a room and hurry inside. The room is large enough for two twin-sized beds and is blessedly cold enough for Ultra to not to care as she lays face down on one of them, her bag cast aside. Axial snorts at the sight before setting Cub down right next to his friend and casting his own bag aside with a relieved sigh. Cub flops back, head on Ultra’s lower back. 

Ultra groans. 

“I’m going to take a shower.” He announces, promptly disappearing into the bathroom. 

Ultra lets out another groan. 

Inkytoes shoulders the door closed and sets Cybil down. He glances at Ultra, once, and then politely averts his gaze as he removes his own shirt before laying on the floor. His cheeks burn. It’s just nice to be back inside another building for a night- a cooler building- and what a strange thought to have. It’s weird how he’s starting to get used to this..lifestyle. It’s strange. He could get used to this. 

He closes his eyes and just misses the slight trickle of smoke that has begun to seep out from his nose. It’s barely noticeable at the moment, but the dark, odorless mist twists upwards until it dissipates into the air. After a few minutes of well-deserved homeostasis, Inkytoes rolls onto his back, let’s out a yawn, and opens his eyes to stare up at the ceiling. He should get up. He should make sure Cybil has some water or eat. He should lay in a bed. He should move. His eyelids droop and he breathes in deeply. Now that he’s not uncomfortably hot anymore, the nice, cozy warmth of the room lulls him further and further into unconsciousness until he’s all but fallen asleep. 

Has it been an hour? Axial isn’t sure, but that bath was heavenly. Sitting at the edge, he runs his hand under the lukewarm water as he fills the bathtub up again to bathe the girls. Hopefully the inn has some food available at an affordable price, otherwise he’ll have to ask around to find something edible and it may take longer than he’d like. He opens the door back into the room and stifles another laugh at the sight: Ultra hasn’t moved an inch from where she’s spread eagled on the bed closest to the room’s door, Cub and Cybil pressed against her right side, asleep. At the end of the bed, on the floor, Inkytoes lets out a soft snore. 

This is adorable. 

He walks over to the bed and scoops the little ones, rousing them as he brings them back to the bathroom. 

Ultra’s eyes flutter open when catches the sound of children giggling and splashing. Slowly, she sits up and yawns, stretches before reaching for her bag and dragging it closer to fish out some light clothes. Another yawn escapes her as she fixes her hijab. If she wasn’t so hungry, she could easily sleep the rest of the day away. Oh well, responsibilities. 

As she sits up further, she spots Inkytoes’ body and freezes. Then, she forces herself to relax. He’s sleeping. He’s just as tired as they are, it’s fine. Still...her eyes follow the curve of his face, down to his chest, then his hands, and then back to his mouth. When that shade took over Inkytoes, he didn’t seem conscious. He didn’t seem to know much afterwards. How does she know if this is Inkytoes actually sleeping or just the shade waiting for her to slip up? 

What if it really did understand the implicit threat in her words that one night not so long ago?

She draws her legs back up onto the bed and stares. As her heart hammers in her chest, she cannot help but give into the familiar fear even as the guilt swirls inside as well. 

When the imperial lets out a soft sound and starts to stir, Ultra grips the bed sheets tightly and stiffens. Thank the Gods when he just turns on his side and continues to rest. She sits there till the tell-tale sound of a tub draining can be heard. The door slides open and Cub bolts out and onto Ultra’s lap before she can even blink. She lets out a noise of surprise, immediately followed by a disgusted groan. “Ugh, you’re still soaking.” 

Cub’s cheeky grin disappears quickly when Ultra digs her fingers into her sides and lets out a shriek before pitching forward and scrambling off the bed. Ultra draws her legs close to her as Cybil quickly follows, crawling over the top and off the other side in hot pursuit of Cub. 

“The wonders a bath can do for you.” Axial says, nearly drenched himself. “You should try it.” 

“Haha.” Ultra bites back, eyeing him carefully. “Don’t even try anything.” 

He crosses his heart. 

Inkytoes lets out a soft groan as he curls further into himself as the girls jump over his body. His tail swishes with slight agitation before he sits up, rubs an eye, and looks around. Axial walks over, hands on his hips, too close for Ultra to feel comfortable. “Evening.” 

He crouches down and Ultra’s nails dig into the sheets. “I hope you’re ready for a bath as well.” He flashes Inkytoes a wicked grin. “I’ve gotten good at catching the runners.” Then he side eyes the two girls, wrestling on the other side of the room. 

Inkytoes slowly stands up. “Yeah, that sounds nice.” He stretches, stands, and then makes his way to the bathroom. 

Axial moves to follow, before abruptly stopping. What is he doing? Inkytoes is an  _ adult _ and he should be capable of washing himself. He watches as Inkytoes closes the door with a soft click and swallows, forcing his attention back on Ultra. 

Ultra who’s managed to trap two tiny, screaming girls under her arms, pressing them down on the bed while digging her fingers into the side with a viscous smirk. 

“Uh.”

“You will think twice about attacking me.” He hears Ultra hiss. Her fingers dig further, eliciting another row of shrieks. “Remember this. Learn.” 

“Help!” Cub cries out. Cybil kicks, to no avail. “Dad!” 

Ultra levels him with a challenging glare. Ah, he can’t abandon his girls, now can he?

Inkytoes leans his back against the door and breathes out, staring blankly at the tub off to the corner. The tile under his feet is warm, but not unbearably so. Next to the tub is a shower. Along the wall are sinks. There’s a cracked door leading to a small closet where a toilet is hidden. It’s simple and Inkytoes finds his breath hitching for a second. 

Inhale, exhale. 

Pushing away from the door, he makes his way over to the bathtub and, after a few minutes of struggling with the facets, warm water begins to pour out. After a few minutes, the water reaches the edge and he stops the water, from the other room he can hear some laughter and a few shouts. He glances back and then dips his hand into the water and that feels wow, it is very warm. Like borderline unpleasant. It’ll probably be nice when he slips in, like a hot spring. He undresses and slowly gets on in, and while it is very hot, it is not  _ entirely unbearable _ . 

Out in the Wasteland, bathing in still bodies of water weren’t just uncommon, it was inadvisable. Any dragon worth their salt understood this. When he started traveling with Cybil, he did his best to stay close to the border of the Sea of a Thousand Currents, but even then, baths were not...as common as he would have preferred. And when it was time, they were not slow affairs. The water of the currents bordering the Wasteland is clean, but colder with far more riptides hidden near the coast for a dragon with respiratory issues and small flighty fledgling to be worried about. 

Even now, he scrubs himself as quickly as he can as the water turns dark fairly fast. He even goes so far as to lean down and scrub his hair clean. Once he’s done, his face is rather pink and there is a sort of blotchy redness from soaking. On the plus side, his skin looks fairly clear and when he catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror he nearly does a double check with how much  _ lighter _ his hair looks. 

He breathes out, then in. He slips further in till the water comes up to the bottom of his chin. He watches as the steam lifts from the top of the water and drifts up, an idle wisp of grey disappearing before it reaches the ceiling above.  _ It’s nice _ . But also  **it isn’t** and he should  **avoid** hot water like this in the future. 

He frowns and reluctantly gets out of the tub. The water is as black as the molten ground outside the inn. He cringes. He hopes this doesn’t drain somewhere bad or- hm. He hesitates before pulling the plug and looking away as the soiled water drains away to...wherever. He grabs a random towel and dries himself off before getting dressed. His clothes stick to his body and it’s not just because he’s still damp from the bath. Despite that, he feels nice. It’s nice feeling clean- or at least free of goo. 

He heads out from the bathroom and opens the door…

...to find Ultra pinned down by Axial on the bed, Cub has somehow managed to wedge herself between their torsos, biting at his arm while Cybil’s little arms are locked tight around Axial’s neck as she dangles off his back. It’s like an abstract modern piece of art; ready to topple at the slightest breath on it. From underneath him, Ultra is laughing through gritted teeth as Cybil cackles like a maniac from above.

Inkytoes takes in the scene like someone choking on cheap wine. He splutters a little. 

Ultra slips a leg up, moves Cub closer to her face, before, and with merciless force, knees Axial in the gut. The air leaves him and before he can do anything, is pushed over- Cybil tumbling from his back to his front as Ultra pins him down by the neck. The girls scurry down, out of the way, as Ultra bears her teeth. 

“Make your case.” He hears her hiss. “Plead.” 

A bubble of spit begins to drip from her mouth and Axial cringes. “Oh gods, please don’t.” 

Near his feet, the girls attempt (and fail) to tickle him and the spit trail slips lower. 

“I thought you were better than this. Betrayal. Traitors, all of you.” Despite the very real threat, he’s smiling, mouth now pressed tight. He turns his head side to side, eye scrunched shut. 

Ultra sucks in a breath, the trail beginning to move up when she looks askance and the two meet each other’s gaze. Her jaw drops and the spit falls flat on Axial’s face. Ignoring his long drown out “noooo”, she gapes at Inkytoes. “Oh...wow.” 

Taking advantage of her distraction, Axial pushes her off and onto Cub by accident. Immediately, she shouts, kicking when Ultra doesn’t scramble off of her fast enough. Ultra curses and rolls off, breaking the fall with her hands and knees. Axial violently wipes the spit from his face, scowling, before looking over at Inkytoes. He pauses, blinks, then smiles. “You look nice! Nice and clean.” He sits up, careful of Cybil. 

“Yeah,” Ultra breathes out, climbing back onto bed. “Good.” 

Axial gently pulls Cub closer to him as she lets out a small sob. “You’re fine.” 

Inkytoes gives Axial a small smile back, but it nervously drops when he glances between Cub and Ultra. He’s not really sure what to make of their reactions, so he stays where he is. He certainly wasn’t expecting this kind of reaction to him being  _ clean _ . 

Ultra clears her throat. “I’m going to freshen up.” She sits up and hurries past Inkytoes and into the bathroom, locking it with a short click. 

He moves over to where he had been sleeping earlier and sits down on the floor. He examines his hands, noting the small traces of shade slowly re-emerging. He’s not sure what they’re going to do next, but he is exhausted. He lets out another yawn. 

Axial pats Cybil’s head and laughs when she reaches out to pat Cub’s head with  _ both _ of her hands. He stretches over the side of the bed and pulls Ultra’s bag up to dig through and pull out a map. He unfurls it, then nudges the girls patting each other to move a little so he can lay it out on the bed. “While she’s busy, let’s review the local area.” He trails his finger from the Hearth to the town. “We’re here right now.” 

Inkytoes sits up and leans closer to get a good look at the map. “Where have you been to? Like, have you traveled to all the regions before?” 

Axial blinks up at Inkytoes. “Oh. I didn’t know you were actually listening to me. I’m used to talking to myself about this usually.” He smiles and glances down at the map. “We usually don’t stray too far, so we haven’t been to all the regions.” 

He presses a finger over the plague lands and then the earth region. “We’ve been on the borders of both of these regions. We’ve also traveled to parts within here and here.” His finger moves between the arcane and the wind regions. “We still haven't been to every part of the regions and we’ve certainly not gone through the other regions yet, so I’m excited.” 

He looks down at Inkytoes. “What about you?”

Inkytoes thinks for a moment. 

“Well, before I started running into you guys, I would just kind of follow the border of the Wasteland.” He gestures in a circular motion all the way around the plague’s edge. “I never really strayed too far into any other regions.” 

“Fair.” Is all Axial says. Cub screams in the background with false bravado before jumping on Cybil. “I’m going to go ahead and check out the area, Ultra will be out soon so...do you want to join me or wait for Ultra and stay with the kids?” 

Inkytoes looks over at the girls wrestling, then looks back to Axial. You know...it’s probably for the best that he goes along with Axial. Besides, he’s curious to look around the town anyways, now that he’s not over heated and looking like death. 

“I could come with you.” He smiles. 

Even with the evening setting in, it’s warm enough for Axial to long for the freshing sanctuary of their inn room. He leans against the inn’s wall, then quickly retracts away from it. It’s fucking hot. Inkytoes steps out from the inn, a puzzled look on his face. The usual expression. 

“Did they mention anything?” Axial prompts. 

“Uh.” Inkytoes always has to think, Axial notices. Regardless of the question, he will pause, his eyes widening a fraction, then look askance and concentrate. His short brows will furrow and he’ll bite his lip sometimes and then, when he’s thought of something satisfactory, he’ll look back his eyes never quite meeting Axial’s whenever he responds. 

“They said there are two markets. I think one’s that way.” He points off to the right. “And, uh, I’m...I don’t remember where the other is.” 

“We’ll start this way then.” 

It’s strange. He’s starting to get used to the imperial. The street is wide, but hardly busy. Yet, here they are, walking side by side, and Axial has yet to feel on edge. They aren’t close enough for their arms to brush, but he can catch the unmistakable whiff of the cinnamon soap offered by the inn. He’s alert, but it’s not because of Inkytoes. He catches sight of the market’s sign and leads Inkytoes that way. 

Holding the door open, Axial is immediately hit with spices and splutters. He tilts his head into his sleeve and sneezes while Inkytoes gives him a curious look. He breathes in once, then twice, and then shrugs. How the fuck does he do that? 

“Just a moment.” A voice calls from somewhere. “I’ll be there in just a moment!” 

Axial lets out another row of violent coughs. 

A brightly dressed and beautifully gened snapper appears from Inkytoes left. He steps back immediately, sucking in a breath. The snapper doesn’t seem to notice with all the dried goods balancing in their arms. “Excuse me.”

They weave around them towards the front and Axial shares a look with Inkytoes before following. Between the dried food and spices, as far as they can see, there is a lot of pickled fruit and vegetables too. Yummy. 

“Yes, hi, we’re looking for some water and some meat and vegetables.” His voice is coarse and he tries to clear his throat, but coughs some more. “Something for a simple meal and travel.” 

“The meat is going to be off to your left near the front. We have some pickled veggies off over here-” She gestures to most of the right wall. “-and dried vegetables are on the tables there.” She points to a table a few feet away from the right wall near to them. 

Axial nods. “Do you have any fresh fruit?” 

She shakes her head. “Those don’t last long out here. We have some...frozen food over there, but it isn't’ much.” She gestures towards her left where a medium sized container sits in a small, square alcove. 

“Thanks.” 

He checks the frozen food first. 

The container appears to be enchanted with ice magic based on the runes outside. He runs his hand along the edge on the lid, following a dialect native to the ice region. The lid is as cold as ice. Lifting it up, he’s hit with a cold wave and breathes out a sigh. He wants to stick his head in it. He bets it’d feel wonderful. Like ducking his head in an ice bath. 

“That looks like a coral grouse.” Inkytoes reaches past Axial to lift the package of the plucked bird and turns it over. His eyes land on the price written on it with a marker. “Hm.” He sets it back down. “There’s more of them.”

“Yeah, looks like it’s mostly meat.” Axial digs around in the box, moving aside the frozen dead birds and frowning. “She wasn’t kidding when she said there’s pretty much nothing here.” 

“What about-” Inkytoes cuts himself off. “Oh, nevermind. That’s a wing.” 

“What did you think it was?” 

“Uh...a potato?” 

Axial laughs. “Okay. Uh.” He sprinkles in a few chuckles. “I can kind of see how.” 

The two girls are sitting on the bed, waiting and watching, when Ultra leaves the bathroom. She gives the bedroom a curious glance around the room, but unless Inkytoes and Axial are hiding under the twin sized beds, those bastards have left her alone with the fledglings. Cub and Cybil smile at her. It looks absolutely devilish. A cold sweat breaks out over her shoulders. “Don’t you even try it.” She weakly warns. “Refrain.” 

Cybil visibly hesitates. Cub does not.

With a warrior’s cry, she lunges as full speed towards Ultra brandishing nothing but her spirit and small fists. Ultra dips to the side, snatches a pillow and chucks it at her. Cub just barely manages to dodge it. Fuck. Ultra snatches another right as Cub is nearing the edge of the bed, Cybil stirring behind her. She has one more shot. She reels her arm back and then chucks it. It hits Cybil square in the face. Huh, well she was aiming for Cub, but okay. 

The pillow bounces somewhere off the other side of the bed as Cybil lays on her back. She sits up, a little teary eyed. She rubs at her eyes and then blindly reaches for the pillow. As she lifts the pillow above her head, Cub gives a shout as she begins to smack Ultra’s legs with her own weapon. 

“Stop! Refrain! Cease- ah!” Ultra barely manages to deflect Cybil’s attack. “Oh, you are going to get it.” She says as she leaps onto the bed and stares down at her small adversaries. “Pray to your gods, for they’re the only thing that can save you now.” 

As they walk down the street, Inkytoes looks around curiously at the local architecture. It’s very...square and dark. Blends in with the ground. They enter into another shop; there are freezers lined on either side of the walls with a few special bottles set up at the center tables. It’s immediately cooler. Axial is immediately drawn to one of the pink bottles. 

He breathes out a small laugh. “I think this is milk?” When he tilts the bottle, the pink liquid inside slowly slides towards the lower center of gravity. It looks like sludge. “What do you think?” 

Inkytoes watches as the rest of the sludge plops down. “I..don’t know.” He doesn’t remember the last time he drank milk. It could be? He pulls away and looks at some of the other bottles and picks one up to show Axial. “This one has fruit.” 

“And some bubbles.” 

“Yeah.” He tilts it and hears a muffled fizz, then nearly drops it when someone clears their throat from behind him. “It’s our special batch: granny smith apples and heart rose petals lemonade.” A spiral says as they dance around Inkytoes and places a warm hand on Axial’s back. “Limited edition, we’ve only got thirty left.” 

He puts a strong hand on the spiral’s shoulder and tightens his grip enough to not hurt. “Sounds a bit too sweet for my tastes, but it sure does look lovely. Do you make them yourselves or have them imported?” 

“I decorate the bottle.” He shoots back. “All of them are still made within the fire region alongside the coast. The glasses themselves are made here. So, I wouldn’t say imported.” 

“Well they look lovely. Do you offer samples?”

The spiral pulls away and the heat from his palm lingers against his back. “For that one, no. But I have a few other samples you can try over here.” He strides ahead and Axial eagerly follows. Inkytoes, still holding the bottle, blinks. 

“..ah. I should..” He sets the bottle down and like a puppy, trails after his friend. 

“Okay.” Ultra huffs out. “Let’s cut a deal.” 

Cub doesn’t let go of her leg, but her eyes snap up to Ultra’s face- or as much as she can see past Cybil struggling in Ultra’s vice grip. 

“We’ll call it a tie and I’ll find you some nice pretty rocks to chew on.” 

Cybil pauses. She would like some shiny rocks, but when Cub shakes her head, she resumes the struggle. 

“Fine. I’ll buy you a dessert to share. Two. Just give up, dammit!” 

Inkytoes doesn’t understand how he’s found himself in this position, but he’s here. Holding a box full of flavored water. As Axial and this spiral, Daryl, haggle over the price. 

“Since you said none of it is imported, I would say the value should be less. Especially if I can make my own.” 

Daryl, the spiral, closes his eyes as his smile widens. “I would love to see you try here. There is hardly a coast anywhere close. These are scarce materials, friend.” He’s half Axial’s height, yet Inkytoes feels like they’re almost eye level with the aggression laced in their words. Axial laughs. 

“These fruit aren’t going to last forever and I don’t see them selling out. Since we’re all friends here, I’ll pay 3k treasure for 9 bottles.” 

“You’re robbing me.” Daryl shoots back. “This is robbery.”

“I would never- is this how you treat your friends?” 

Inkytoes’ gaze rolls upwards and he starts counting the cracks in the ceiling. 

They leave with ten bottles at the price of 4k treasure, which Inkytoes thought was a lot, but Axial seems pretty pleased with the deal. He kept saying things like “wow, this was a pretty great deal” and “I basically robbed him” and “haha, your face when I said that”. 

“Seriously, it’s funny.” Axial adds. “You look like a big sheep when your eyes get that big.” 

Yeah, things like that. 

The inn is ahead and Axial, in a good mood, hasn’t stopped talking about their plans for tomorrow. 

“-after that, we’re going to look for any artifacts, like bracelets, weapons, or old pieces of armor to collect and resell back home. Hopefully, we’ll be able to find some food too. And, of course, the molten rock would be ideal-” 

Inkytoes opens the inn door open for the mirror and follows as he slips through. 

“-of course, we won’t be able to linger so we’ll have to also head out tomorrow so we don’t waste all our resources here.” Inkytoes looks over the clerk talking with another customer. “Are you excited for the grueling walk ahead of us?” 

Inkytoes blinks, looking back towards Axial. “Huh? Oh.” He laughs a little at the strange phrasing. “Yeah.” 

“Let’s get this stuff put away and see how the girls are doing.” 

Inkytoes nods. 

They reach their door and Axial gives it a courtesy knock before unlocking it and stepping inside- and then stopping abruptly causing Inkytoes to run into him. “Ultra?” 

Her head snaps up right as a pillow flies and smacks into the side. She lets out a growl, hissing towards Cybil perched on the other bed, a fierce look on her little face. “You little-” She’s cut off when another pillow smacks her again. 

Cybil lets out a short screech of victory, but when she sees Inkytoes, immediately cuts herself short. “Hi.” 

Ultra moves fast, with Cub already pinned under her, she swoops her under and arm, rolls and then snatchs Cybil by the ankle, yanking her onto her butt, and then drags her close before tucking her, too, under her other arm. Axial blinks. “Uh.” 

Her head snaps back towards him, eyes steely, and stalks over to the two other adults. Axial instinctively steps back and into Inkytoes’ chest. Inkytoes lets out a surprise noise but Axial doesn’t get a chance to apologize before Ultra’s shadow falls over them. Immediately, Inkytoes looks away- Ultra’s still in her lighter attire. His cheeks flush from embarrassment. 

“You left these monsters behind,” Ultra says between her clenched teeth, taking another step forward to shove both of the squirming kids into Axial’s arms. He takes them with a slack jaw, which morphs into a lopsided smile and a snort. “I was assaulted.” She continues, jabbing a finger into his shoulder. “Attacked!” 

Oh gods, he definitely can’t- a loud laugh spills out from him and he curls the girls closer to his chest. He feels Ultra smack his shoulder. “Don’t laugh at me, you asshole.” 

“Not in front of the girls...”

She jabs a finger towards Inkytoes. “Why can’t you be more like him? Quiet and anxious enough to not pull something like that?” 

“Wait, what-” 

“Axial I’m serious, next time you do that, I’m tying them up.” This time she’s looking at the girls as she says this. “And no matter how much you cry, I won’t untie you.”

“Haha, okay that’s horrible.” Axial pushes past Ultra towards the beds, setting the girls down despite her vocal protests. “She’s not doing that, don’t worry.” 

“Don’t tell them that.” 

Axial pats the girls on the heads and looks back over to Ultra. “Did you want to go and look around tonight?” 

Ultra shakes her head and flops back down on the bed. “Axial, I honestly would rather not. It’s hot outside and it’s cool in here.” 

Inkytoes clears his throat. “Uh...oh, well. I was wondering, just out of curiosity, why not now? You know...while it’s night? It’d be cooler and less bright.” 

Axial and Ultra share a look. He holds up a finger, then pauses. Axial’s face scrunches up as he looks down, puzzled. “That’s a good point…” It’s not even all that dark outside with all the lava rivers relatively close by. “..oh! Well the beasts…” He trails off again. The village around them appears to have decent protection, though anything outside that is debatable on safety. “..I suppose..” His finger droops a bit. “Why didn’t I think of that? Ultra we should go scavenging tonight.”

“Absolutely not.” 

“Why not?” Axial steps forward, gesturing emphatically. “You heard Inkytoes, it just makes more sense.” 

Ultra levels him with a long stare and slowly makes her way back to them. “Axial, I have walked a very long distance and I am tired. I am not going to wander out at night and scavenge around the outer limits of this village just to be attacked by a manticore. And you certainly should not go on your own.” 

Axial closes his mouth. He opens it again. 

“Taking him is like taking one of the girls, don’t you even try it.” 

“Fine.” Axial says after a moment. He looks to Inkytoes and gestures. “There’s your answer.” 

Inkytoes nods. “Ah, okay.” 

With no room to disobey, the group settles down for the night. Axial doles out some food and water while Ultra relaxes and the girls nestle in bed. They eat, chat a little, and Axial hums in thought. At some point Ultra excuses herself to the bathroom to freshen up a little. 

Axial hums in thought. “No, yeah, I think you're right. We shouldn’t leave too early.” 

“Oh?” 

He nods his head, getting up. “I’m going to go talk to the clerk at the desk and see about extending our check out time tomorrow. Watch the girls.” And then he’s gone. 

Inkytoes wipes at his chin and ambles back over towards the girls, picking a spot on the floor and sitting down. He looks over to the girls, keeping an eye on the kiddos. They do the same. Cub moves first.  She heads over towards Inkytoes, stopping short of his crossed knees and waiting. When he doesn’t flinch away, she edges closer putting a hand on his knee. And when he only flinches at the touch, she takes it as an okay to immediately climb into his lap. 

“Ah, wait.” He sucks in a breath and stiffens up when she suddenly shifts into her dragon form. Her weight already is hurting his thighs. She rubs against his chest. “Please,” He mutters. “Don’t…” 

She puts her paws on his chest and jumps- a pained noise catches in his throat and he lets out a sharp whine when her claws rake down the front as she falls back into his lap. “Aw, ow, Cub, please don’t do that.” He looks down at his shirt (now shredded) and then at the visible, shallow claw marks in him and grimaces.  _ Where the heck is he going to find a new shirt?? _

Ultra opens the bathroom door and then pinches the bridge of her nose at the sight. 

“Cub.” She breathes out. It’s all she has to say as Cub’s perked ears immediately press back. She strides over to the bed nearest to Inkytoes and sits down, leveling her with an exasperated stare. “You know what your dad has said about shifting indoors...and about using your claws to climb other dragons.” She points to a spot near her on the bed. Cub beseechingly looks at Inkytoes, but when it’s clear he’s not going to do anything about it, she reluctantly complies with Ultra’s demand. With a limp tail and her ears down, she slowly walks to the bed and jumps on it. Out of support, Cybil climbs on the bed next to her friend and leans against her.

“You stay in time out for fifteen minutes.” 

Once she’s positive Cub isn’t going to try anything, she looks over Inkytoes again. “Hm, let’s...see what we can find you.” She gestures for him to come closer. He stands up and takes off his shredded shirt- oh it’s completely ruined now- and sets it aside.  _ Cub’s going to be a force to be reckoned with when she grows up.  _

Cub lets out a sad, pitiful noise as she rubs her head against Cybil’s side. She abruptly stops at Ultra’s sharp look. 

Ultra lets out another sigh. She reaches over the side of the bed for one of their bags and begins digging around for some extra linens. She sets down a few in a pile and considers how she can possibly use them to stitch up the shirt but, hm, at this point with all the stains and stitching…”I think you need a new shirt.” She mumbles. 

She puts the linens away and grabs Axial’s bag. 

“You’ll have to wear this until we can get you a new shirt.” She pulls out Axial’s night shirt, already stained by black liquid. Similar to his favorite sweater, it’s brightly colored and a disaster to all things fashionable. While it’s large in volume, it’s incredibly short on Inkytoes’ frame. 

His eyes flit from the girls to the shirt.  _ How...how is he ever going to fit into that? It’s so bright too. _

She gives him a sympathetic smile. 

He snorts out a small laugh. “Wouldn’t it just be better for me to go shirtless? I’d stand out more wearing that than I would without a shirt on.” 

“Fair…” Ultra looks at the shirt with distaste. “However, you may as well hold on to it just in case.” She pushes the shirt into his chest. “I doubt he’ll care if you use it, so if anything, you should keep it just to keep you from getting a nasty sunburn.” 

Inkytoes nods along and takes the shirt. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense. By the way, Axial liked the idea of traveling at night so he said he’s going to extend our time before check out tomorrow so we can leave around evening.” 

“Well...yes, that does make sense.” 

Cub lets out another long whine and Ultra sighs again. “Five more minutes, Cub.” 

Inkytoes glances over at Cub. Then back to the tattered shirt. What is he going to do with it? Maybe he could wrap his arms, legs, and tail again to hide the shade. He’s had to throw away the older strips since they’ve become too saturated with goo to really conceal it. 

He sits back down on the ground with his prize and leans back against the wall right as the door opens and Axial enters with a grin. “I don’t know if it’s my rugged physique or just my charming disposition, but the clerk agreed to let us stay longer tomorrow for free.” 

“Definitely the rugged physique.” Ultra teases. “Nice job.” 

“Thanks, thanks, it’s the heat.” He grins and flops onto the other bed. Cub gazes over at her dad, then back to Ultra. Ultra gives her nod with a small smile and Cub leaps away from Cybil and straight towards her father, barreling into his arms. He laughs and rubs her head, hugging her close. Cybil is quick to follow. 

Hugging the girls close, he falls back and lets out a sigh. “Time for bed. We have a loooong day tomorrow.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was so much written within the fire region that the chapter had to be split up so it wasn't 30 pages alone. As said at the start, the next chapter will be shorter.


End file.
